Under the Same Sky
by Zokolov
Summary: Kris, Iris, Lyra, Wes, Hilda and other young trainers seek the legendary Jirachi, which is said to grant them any wish they desire. They travel through less-explored regions like Fiore, Orre and the Sevii Islands and get to know the local cultures, while dealing with a Giratina-worshiping cult that is also after the Wish Pokémon.
1. Fiore, Land of the Rangers

**WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE – SEASON 3: _UNDER THE SAME SKY_**

Everyone has a dream that fills their heart, a journey they must take, a destiny to fulfill.

When you're at the end of your rope, with nothing to lose and only seconds to choose, what do you think you would wish for? And what if someone gave you the chance to make that dream come true?

Right now, the fondest wish of Kris from New Bark Town, as she woke from her friend Iris' snoring on top of some filthy rags in a dank, dark, smelly prison cell, was being anybody else in the world. Her mind took a while to adjust as she tried to remember why she was there.

 **Chapter One: _Fiore, Land of the Rangers_**

 _ **Location: The S.S. Spiral, en route to Fiore**_

 _ **A day earlier...**_

"Step right up, step right up! Is there anyone here brave enough to challenge my girl? Don't let looks deceive you, friends, she's nabbed dozens of wins on this trip alone, and this here will be her 50th battle!"

Iris, a 17-year old short Unovan girl with long, bushy purple hair was standing on an improvised podium in the dining hall of the ship, challenging today's crowd – mostly burly sailors – to have a Pokémon battle with her best friend.

That happened to be Kris, a pasty, scrawny 17-year old girl from Johto with black hair on pigtails. She was hugging her Sandshrew and nervously waving at the crowd, which almost caused her to drop her Pokémon.

Naturally, a lot of people tried to enter, and even more people started making bets. Iris was gathering money from people, putting good odds for today's challenger, who happened to be a biker from Unova called Charles.

"The Heartbreaker!" insisted Charles – this was apparently his stage name.

The biker was at least six feet and three inches, a whole foot taller than Kris, with a really embarrassing mullet. He wore a stereotypical leather vest, but with no shirt underneath, and he was heavily muscled, to the point where Kris believed his stage name was probably what he literally did to people who crossed him.

Kris went with her Sandshrew, which caused the spectating crowd to laugh. Charles the Heartbreaker sent out his Krookodile. Both ground-types, with no immediate type advantage to either of them- just the fact that Sandshrew was only up to Krookodile's knee. Iris acted as a referee, loudly announcing the battle as having begun.

"Tell you what, little girl," Charles told Kris condescendingly. "I don't want to hurt your or your little… whatever you call that thing… so how about I give you the first shot. Come on, go ahead, stand easy, Krookodile!"

"Your kindness melts my heart," Kris deadpanned. "Shrew, Poison Sting!"

Kris' creatively named Sandshrew lunged at Charles' Krookodile with speed uncharacteristic for its species. As Shrew sunk one of its claws into Krookodile's tough hide, Krookodile winced in pain, but quickly got over it and whacked Shrew away with its tail, sending the little ground-type flying back to its owner.

Charles burst into loud, obnoxious laughter, some of the crowd joining him. " _That's_ how you used your free shot?!" he taunted Kris. "Well, don't say I didn't warn ya! Krookodile, grab that little squirt and use Crunch!"

"Dig!" Kris ordered quickly.

Moving much faster than the lumbering Krookodile, Shrew dug under the floorboards like they were dirt, easily dodging Krookodile's attack. Charles ordered an Earthquake, but once again, he wasn't fast enough as Shrew suddenly emerged behind Krookodile, hitting the larger Pokémon in the head and stunning it for a while.

"Krookodile!" Charles wailed. "Stop screwing around!"

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt," Kris said mockingly. "And I didn't mean your Pokémon, I meant you. The frustration is just eating you up inside, huh? Do you want a free turn now?"

"Shut your mouth!" Charles ranted. "Krookodile, get a hold o' yourself! Focus Punch!"

"Shrew, Focus Punch!"

People in the crowd gasped at the little Sandshrew knowing such a move. Both Krookodile and Shrew pulled back their fists, gathering energy until their claws glowed bright blue. But Kris had one last surprise up her sleeve. She hadn't been content with teaching Shrew just a regular Focus Punch, so when Shrew prepared to strike, it rocketed itself into the air and punched Krookodile right in the stomach, breaking Krookodile's concentration and letting Shrew escape with zero damage.

Krookodile staggered a bit while Charles yelled at it, but miraculously managed to stay upright.

"Good, finally!" Charles ranted, his face shiny with sweat. "We'll teach that punk, Krookodile – use Outrage!"

But Krookodile didn't do anything but look nauseous, its tiny eyes becoming crossed as it started staggering around. Finally, instead of attacking, Krookodile passed out and hit the floor with a mighty thud, its tongue hanging out.

"Krookodile is unable to battle!" Iris declared. "Which mean Kris of New Bark Town wins the match!"

Sandshrew, having made it through the match without a scratch except a piece of its claw having come off, dashed back to its owner and jumped into Kris' lap, where it nuzzled against her chest. Kris scratched it behind the ear, thanking it for another successful battle. Charles didn't even withdraw his Pokémon, he just stared at it with his mouth wide open.

"You know, that Poison Sting in the beginning wasn't supposed to do damage," Kris pointed out. "See, when it comes to fighting an opponent four times your size, you might want to focus on whittling its health down little by little. Well, anyway, good show, gg, gotta go!"

Not waiting for Charles' reprisal, Kris quickly left the dining hall, and Iris soon followed, but not before hastily putting all the money she had made into a bag. The crowd only now realized that only one person had actually bet in favor of Kris – and that was Kris herself.

Fully anticipating an angry mob, Kris and Iris rendezvoused in a broom closet, where Kris was already feeding Shrew some Pokéblocks as a reward. As soon as Iris entered, Kris quickly turned to look.

"Well?" she asked. "How much?!"

"Looks to be about 2800 pokédollars," Iris said as she unloaded the stack of bills on the floor. "But Kris, I have to say-"

"Great, great, I'm listening, honest," Kris said as she started stuffing her share of the money in her bag.

"This is serious!" Iris insisted. "I don't feel okay doing this anymore."

"Yeah, I should switch around a little," Kris agreed. "Maybe I should finish with my patented Defense Curl and Rollout combo next time..."

"That's not what I meant," Iris sighed. "I meant, aren't we kind of… ripping people off?"

Kris stared at Iris. "No!" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I beat him fair and square, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah-"

"And I was the only one who actually bet I would win, right?"

"Yes, but Kris, you-"

" _And_ if they really thought I was deceiving them," Kris ranted on, "then maybe they should look in a mirror and not be such judgmental scumbags. They only thought I'd lose because Shrew is so small, or because I'm," Kris changed her voice to imitate Charles' deep baritone, "a 'little girl'."

Kris snorted.

"I tell you, Iris," she continued, "if I'm going to be stuck in a boat with a bunch of chauvinistic jerks, I want to at least get some money out of it! Sweet, sweet, money…"

Iris smiled. "Okay, I get it, and I'm not complaining about the money. It's because of that we've gotten this far, and most of it is going to pay for our ticket and our food anyway, so it's not like we're making a huge profit."

"Though I would like some nice new clothes," Kris pondered. "How long do you think it'll take us to get to Fiore?"

Iris checked her PokéGear watch. "About-"

She was suddenly interrupted by the ship's PA system:

" _Attention, passengers! We will arrive in the docks of Summerland, Fiore in ten minutes. The staff of S.S. Spiral thanks you for your_ _patronage and for not vomiting too much during yesterday's storm._ "

"-about now," Iris finished.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Just outside Summerland, Fiore**_

Soon enough, Kris and Iris were on their way to Summerland. They had to show their passport at the docks, Fiore being a part of the Ranger Union, a completely different country. Still, it wasn't too far and it looked pretty much the same as any other place Kris had been: lush forests, green meadows, Pokémon going about. Only… a _lot_ more Pokémon than usual. In Johto or Kanto or wherever, you had to wander deep into a forest or a thicket of tall grass to get Pokémon, but in here, they just wandered about, Pidgey chirping in the trees, Rattata and Stunky running across the path leading to Summerland, Mankey hopping from tree to tree and so forth, like they weren't afraid of humans at all.

As Kris kept an eye out for something rarer, Iris read a pamphlet about the Ranger Union. As much as she had studied in her school days, they were mainly limited to Pokémon and information about the Unova region and others with similar Pokémon Leagues, like Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. The Ranger Union was a complete unknown to her.

After a while of walking in silence, Kris stretched and yawned.

"Arceus, it feels good to be on dry land again!" she said. "A whole month in that tub was getting on my nerves. Least we didn't have to scrub the deck this time. I still have crap under my nails from our time at S.S. Anne. You wanna find a burger place?"

"Aren't we here for important things?" Iris asked. "Finding more about this prophecy thing – and getting to know the local culture, of course! Plus we just had breakfast a while ago."

"Fast metabolism, deal with it," Kris said. "How much longer till Summerland?"

"We've only been walking for three minutes..."

Kris groaned. "It's a great day and all but I want to sit in a dirty booth in some fast food diner and eat something fattening already! And it's been like _ages_ since I smelled some good-old pollution!"

"Hm, guess you'll be disappointed," Iris noted as she read her travel guide. "The Ranger Union is mostly populated by-"

"Pokémon Rangers?" Kris guessed glibly. "Yeah, I figured. But what do they _do_?"

"They team up with Pokémon to fight crime, solve ecological problems and to help people in general," Iris read. "Seems like the Rangers in this country handle security, logistics, administration, education, health care, food services – pretty much everything. The Ranger Union consists of the regions of Fiore, Almia and Oblivia, but all three are governed by the Ranger Union's Chairperson who resides in Almia. All three regions are bound together by 'respect for Pokémon and living in symbiosis with nature'."

"Hippies, got it," Kris summarized. "Nah, but it all sounds great, trust me. Long as their personal hygiene is good, I don't judge. Any cultural things I should know about? Like, if giving a thumbs up or showing a victory sign is grounds for a death penalty here?"

"Nothing like, pretty sure, but there's a lot of text," Iris muttered as the read the guide. "There's a whole section about eyebrow grooming… probably should skip that..."

"You best, though you could use it, actually," Kris pointed out, not noticing Iris' glare. "You know what I _really_ want to do, though? I want to catch a new Pokémon! Not that my current team isn't great, but you know, I haven't gotten a new one since Snorlax, and that was a nightmare! Hope professor Elm is feeding it correctly… say, what does the guide say about the wild Pokémon here?"

"The Rangers are also very into protecting them – probably explaining why they're so many of them here," Iris said, stopping to let a group of Wurmple to cross the road. "But according to the guide, it's pretty much the same species you could find anywhere we've been before."

"Awesome, now let me think!" Kris said in thought, Iris having to pull on her jacket to stop her from stomping on a Wurmple. "It has to strike a perfect balance between adorable and badass, you know? Like all of my current ones!"

Iris smiled nervously. "I wouldn't call Croc adorable, but-"

"You kidding! It's the cutest one!" Kris exclaimed and grabbed a Poké Ball from her belt – the only one with a special symbol, marked with a blue 'T'. "Croc, come out!" she called and opened the ball.

Iris winced as Croc, Kris' massive Feraligatr materialized in front of her. It snapped its jaws and flexed its muscles proudly, roaring in delight to be out of the ball. As soon as Croc spotted the Wurmple crossing the road, it licked its lips and tried to grab one of them, but Kris slapped it on the wrist.

"Hey!" she snapped. "Bad Feraligatr!"

Croc obeyed, but it was clearly hungry, with drool dripping from its mouth and onto Iris' travel guide, making Iris recoil in disgust.

"You still haven't taught it not to be like… that?" she asked Kris.

"Ehh," Kris said with a shrug. "It listens to me well enough and it hasn't actually eaten anyone – that I know of. Sure, it's got an attitude, but hey, you try bossing around something that could snap your arm off it wanted to."

Then, Kris suddenly started laughing.

"Hey, wouldn't it have been cool if I had used Croc in that battle," she giggled, holding onto the Feraligatr for support. "I could have made it act all weak and make him think he was gonna win, and he would have said 'see you later, Feraligatr!'. And then I would have told Croc to use Superpower and knock that sassy bastard Pokémon's teeth out and I would have been all 'in a while, Krookodile!'"

Kris laughed at her own joke for several minutes while Iris looked on in contempt.

"He probably wouldn't have used Krookodile in that case, with the type disadvantage and all," Iris pointed out.

Kris stopped laughing. "Hmm, guess you're – Iris, look!"

Kris had spotted the perfect Pokémon for her just walking on the grass a few yards away from her – a Vulpix, a cute Pokémon with a smooth reddish brown pelt, shiny eyes, six orange tails with curled tips. And it could burn m********ckers!

"Want it!" Kris squealed.

"Don't you already have a fire-type?" Iris asked.

"Pfft, I love Chandelure and all, but I can't cuddle with it!" Kris scoffed, then turned to Croc. "Okay, blast it with Water Gun, but go easy, I don't want to make a trip through the Pokémon Center!"

Croc looked at its would-be opponent… then just snorted in contempt, yawned and collapsed on the ground.

"Fine, be that way!" Kris said, returning the Feraligatr to its Poké Ball. "I'll just catch it myself. Good thing I have one of these things left!"

Kris pulled out a black, yellow-striped Poké Ball, an Ultra Ball, but before she could throw it, Iris let out a weird yell.

"What?!" Kris wondered.

"Just – hold on a moment before you catch it, okay!" Iris said anxiously as she leafed through the guide. "They mentioned something about there being strict laws against 'poachers' but before they could explain more thoroughly, they said 'for more information, turn to page 394'..."

"Iris, hun, I'm not a poacher, I'm a Pokémon trainer," Kris said condescendingly. "Catching them is sort of the basis for the entire human culture. So, if you'll excuse me..."

"Wait!"

But Kris threw the Poké Ball straight at the Vulpix – only for it to be caught mid-air and smacked away by the vine-like appendage of a Ferrothorn that suddenly emerged from the bushes. Soon, it was followed by other Pokémon and their assumed trainers, all clad in red and black uniforms of some kind.

 _Rangers, I'm guessing._

"Guys, what gives?!" Kris immediately yelled at them. "I saw that Vulpix first! Give my Poké Ball back, please!"

"Suspect #1 has confessed their crime!" belted one of the Rangers, a tall, authoritative young woman with long, light blue hair. "Rangers, you have clearance for a takedown, I repeat, clearance for a takedown!"

Iris shook her head. "Who are you talk – _oof_!"

Both Iris and Kris were suddenly tackled to the ground and handcuffed by two Pokémon Rangers each while the blue-haired girl looked on, scanning the two with a red, remote control -looking device.

"You two are not in the Ranger Union database!" she announced with an unnecessarily loud voice.

Kris tried to wriggle free, but the two Rangers held her tight. "What datab-"

"SILENCE!" the girl screamed. "I ask the questions! State your names, hometowns, home regions and your intentions here?"

Iris and Kris glanced at each other.

"Um," Iris said meekly, "I thought we had to be sil-"

" _Answer the questions_!"

"Right, right, Iris, Village of Dragons, Unova, here just to study your great land!"

"Kris, from some Arceus-forsaken craphole in None-Of-Your-Damn-Business-Stan," Kris spat.

"And what do you intend to do here?"

"Your mom."

"That's the third one this month, Solana," laughed the other Ranger holding Kris down. "You really need to stop walking right into those things!"

" _Quiet_!" yelled the blue-haired girl. "Get them up!"

Kris and Iris were lifted roughly into the air, Kris glaring at the young woman as she folded her arms and assumed her authoritative voice:

"I, Solana, in my capacity as the Top Ranger, hereby place you under arrest for poaching, attempted assault of a Pokémon, disrupting a nature preserve, resisting arrest, sassing of social betters – and _wanton_ sassing of social betters," she added with a smirk to Kris. "Leilani, did I forget anything?"

"Public disturbance," laughed one of the Rangers.

"Good point!" Solana said. "Yes, your loud talking might have traumatized some local Pokémon. You will be imprisoned pending your trial. Should you attempt to escape, I am authorized to stop you by force! And, uh…"

"They smell bad!" suggested another Ranger.

"Yes, and you sm- shut up!" Solana snapped. "Get them to lockup!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Snowpoint City Docks, Sinnoh**_

 _ **A month earlier…**_

While Iris had run off to the shops, Kris sat in a dingy coffee shop by the Snowpoint City harbor, with a full view of the ships, including the icebreaker S.S. Spiral, from the window that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in the last decade. While she drank hot cocoa, Shrew was sitting on the table, munching on a platter full of Pokémon food pellets. Making sure no one was looking, Kris tried dipping one pellet into her cocoa, to see if tasted better… and then it crumbled in the drink, prompting a frustrated sigh from Kris.

While she struggled with her disgusting drink, Kris failed to notice Shrew's ears perking up and the ground-type lifting its face from its chow. Shrew then quickly turned and ran into the arms of a girl who had just entered the store. Kris was about to run to apologize for Shrew's sudden need to cuddle, but she stayed put when she recognized the girl, although it was hard to do so in winter clothes.

As she sat down and took a layer off, Kris recognized her: Leaf from Pewter City, a friend (if not very close one) of Kris', 18 years old, with long, straight brown hair and big, blue eyes. Besides the fact that she was an experienced trainer, a scientist-in-training and a former con artist, Kris mostly respected her for being a former friend of the legendary Pokémon trainer Red. The Pallet Town -born boy won the Kanto championship at the humble age of 15, but was only a Champion for little more than a year before abruptly retiring and then disappearing altogether.

Looking around her only to see no one in the coffee place except the bored-looking server and an old, sleeping sailor in the corner, Leaf leaned closer to Kris.

"Sorry for the wait," she muttered.

"Oh, no problem," Kris said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "It's only been… three hours and twenty-seven minutes since we were supposed to meet – at the boat over there, not here! What's up?"

"I have to be careful, is all," Leaf said. "Where's Iris?"

"Shopping for goods, but I'm sure you'll get to say hi to her as we-"

"There's _really_ no time for that!" Leaf snapped. "Just tell her what I'm about to tell you. Someone is monitoring everyone who's ever been in contact with Red. Even if he disappeared exactly so this wouldn't happen, his enemies are damn persistent. They think he'll pop up to say hi to his old buddies any day now."

"Yeah, speaking of that," Kris said and took Shrew in her lap when the Sandshrew started to peruse through Leaf's bag. "If you want me to do something, you'll have to tell the full story to me first! What's the deal with all this? Why is Red still hiding, and from whom?"

Sighing, Leaf looked over her shoulder once again just to be sure, then motioned Kris to lean even closer.

"It all started when Red was champion," Leaf explained. "He gained access to some really sensitive information, involving the Pokémon League, even the Pokémon Association, the very people who make the laws, build the roads, eat the taxpayers, all that. Even I don't know, exactly, but that's what one day he came across something that _really_ made him quit."

"I thought he wanted to train more, travel to new places, all that stuff," Kris wondered.

"I'm sure that was one reason," Leaf said with a nod, "but he wasn't going to go cruising around some tropical island while knowing what he knew. He assembled a group of reliable friends, people who he could trust and who would never sell him out to the Pokémon League, even if everyone who knew him had officially cut him off."

"So people like you?" Kris asked.

"Me, Blue, his friend Copycat, Dr. Blaine, the secretary of Silph," Leaf listed, "and Yellow, of course. Yellow basically ran things with Red, the two were much closer than he and I could ever hope to be. Together, we found out and exposed a lot of wrongdoings in the Pokémon League, but it was mostly minor stuff, and almost all of it was swept under the rug. But the information which caused Red to flee… that _has_ to go out there! Even if I doubt you'd believe what it was..."

"Hey, I _love_ to fight the establishment!" Kris protested. "Have you read my tumblr?"

Leaf furrowed her brow at Kris.

"I'm guessing that's a no," Kris muttered.

"This is serious, Kris," Leaf argued. "Will you help us?"

"Of course!" Kris said immediately. "Sounds like I need go somewhere, which means plenty of opportunities to become stronger. Just tell me what to do!"

"There is a prophecy," Leaf began, but Kris interrupted her:

"Yeah, I'll believe anything you throw at me, but not those," she said. "Even after all I've done, kicking ass in Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh-"

"Aided by your friends and Pokémon," Leaf corrected.

"Yeah, whatever," Kris said, "anyway, even after I've done all that, I haven't gotten anything! I'm not super-rich, super-skilled, super-famous, super-popular and I just plain don't feel super. I was supposedly part of some prophecy that said I was supposed to become the next Red, but nope, drinking horrible cocoa in a filthy coffee place in the middle of nowhere is what reality decided for me! So I'm sorry if I don't believe in prophecies."

When Kris ended her rant and took a sip of her cocoa, then grimaced in disgust, Leaf decided she could get a word in:

"The prophecy you're talking about is a loosely translated part of a much greater whole," Leaf said. "Red's information is related to it, and I think the Pokémon League is trying to hide something related to it. I think… they're about to do something terrible."

"For what?" Kris wondered. "Money, power, giggles?"

"The prophecy might have some answers, and I have a whole section translated here: ' _As the stars fall on the Earth, the conquest begins from the land of life's beginning_ '. Then there's a whole section about a Pokémon that grants you any wish-"

Kris began coughing on her cocoa, which continued on for a whole minute, but tried to play it cool when she recovered.

"Really?" she asked, trying to sound just mildly curious. "Um, what kind of Pokémon?"

"Hm? Oh, some mumbo-jumbo myth about an alien Pokémon called Jirachi. They said that it visits our world every thousand years and grants you any wish you desire. Anyway, then there's a whole bit about-"

"I'll do it!" Kris agreed and stood up, holding Shrew so tightly she almost suffocated the poor Pokémon. "I'll go look for answers about this prophecy. Um, me and Iris will."

"Yeah, that would be good," Leaf agreed as she packed her notes, apparently disappointed she didn't get to show off her translation. "Even if you're rookies, you and her have gotten into a lot of dangerous adventures, so I know you'll be able to take care of yourselves. It might take a while, but that boat-"

Leaf pointed at the S.S. Spiral.

"-will take you to Fiore after it has completed its tour around Sinnoh," she said. "I don't have any clues, I'm afraid, but there's a scientist close there who knows something about this. I wish I knew his or her name, but-"

"No need, me and Iris are on the case! We'll find this Jirachi and ask them about the wish! Uh, I mean, scientist… um… I'll go find Iris! Good meeting ya!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Basement of the Ranger Base, Summerland, Fiore**_

 _ **Back in present day…**_

As Kris woke up, she got used to her surroundings. It took her a while to remember why her whole body hurt and why she felt a mix of anxiety and rage, then she realized she was in a small, dank, dark room with only one, tiny window, a heavily reinforced locked steel door between her and freedom. She had been forced to sleep on the floor on top of dirty, smelly blankets, cuddled next to Iris for warmth, only to have to endure her snoring.

She would have cuddled with her Pokémon, but the Rangers took them all, along with everything else Kris and Iris had except for their PokéGears – not that it did much good, as neither internet, phone nor the radio worked in the cell. Kris shuddered to think what that scum was doing to her Pokémon, and only got satisfaction thinking that some idiot would have accidentally opened Croc's Poké Ball and it was now eating everyone.

Iris woke up too, having slept with the Ranger Union guide (another thing they allowed them to keep) on her face.

"This is Tauros!" Kris cursed. "This is against, um… well, if there was some convention about this, our situation would be against it! They can't keep us here much longer! Our bucket needs emptying! It's like hours are turning to weeks, weeks to months-"

"We've only been here for 12 hours," Iris said groggily.

Desperately looking for an outlet for her rage, Kris turned to Iris.

"Why didn't you stop me?!" she snapped. "You're the smartypants, culturally sensitive book-worm… girl! You had the frickin' guide! How was I supposed to know I was committing a crime!"

"Hey, this thing is pretty hard to read!" Iris protested. "It's over five hundred pages long – the first chapter alone has like five thousand words! The author probably has no life. See, the whole thing about poachers? Well, I had to read seven different chapters and thirty pages of legal junk to find out capturing Pokémon and having Pokémon battles are both illegal. Battles are only allowed by official Rangers in dangerous situations or by students of the Ranger School in the next region over."

Forgetting to be angry, Iris went into lecture mode.

"There's a fascinating reason for all that, by the way!" she said with a giddy smile on her face. "There's this chapter about the Union's history, that-"

"This place is crazy," Kris muttered. "No capturing, no battles… I have to get out of here!"

"Well, from what I've read-"

"Oh yeah, I'm glad you had time to read it between all that obnoxious snoring!" Kris snapped.

Iris frowned. "Look here, Kris! We're here because _you_ didn't stop when I warned you and because _you're_ so self-involved that you never listen!"

"Well if I'm so self-involved, then don't talk to me!" Kris yelled.

"Fine!" Iris yelled back.

"FINE!"

 _ **Five minutes later…**_

Kris and Iris hugged while loudly crying against each others' shoulders.

"I didn't-" Kris stopped to sniff. "I didn't mean it! I'm so sorry!"

"I'm sorry, too!" Iris sobbed dramatically. "Will you forgive me?!"

"Of course! You're my best friend, Iris! I love you!"

"I LOVE YOU TOO!"

 _ **Five more minutes later…**_

Iris leaned against the wall and stared at the cell's ceiling while Kris laid on her back, her eyes tightly closed.

"We're going to die here, aren't we?" Iris mumbled quietly.

Kris suddenly sat up, eyes wide open. "I got it!" she yelled. "I know how we can escape! See, we use our Pokémon to-"

Iris glared at her.

"Oh, right," Kris mumbled and went back on her bed. "Man, I suck. Well, it's not like I've ever been in prison before. I've never committed crime before! Well, okay, once I was broke and I really wanted this manga. See, it had these two guys who…"

Blushing, Kris trailed off.

"Never mind," she said quietly.

"Kris," Iris said, fortunately not listening. "If we had found Jirachi, what would you have wished for?"

 _That was a strange – and kinda personal – question_ , Kris thought. Did Iris really think they wouldn't made it? And Kris hadn't given it too much thought. After all, she could wish for anything. Like, a million wishes! Or was there a rule against it, like in _Aladdin_? Could she only ask for one thing? And if not, what was it? What did her heart's deepest desire?

Oh, Arceus, what did she even want? Did she have to answer this? Should she have the wish ready in case they actually found it? Or would she have to split the wish with Iris?!

Before Kris started hyperventilating, the cell's door was suddenly opened. Kris and Iris sprang on their feet, but quickly retreated against the wall when two Rangers stepped in, aiming crossbows at the two. Solana, the leading Ranger, followed.

"Hope you slept well, poachers!" Solana mocked. "It's time for your trial!"

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay, I know some people hate author's notes (trust me, I will NEVER put them in the middle of the story) so I'll avoid them from now on, but first some info:**_

 _ **This is part 3 of my series, but you don't have to read the previous two to know what's up, since I'll try to explain things and keep it self-contained, though with characters and plot points obviously reappearing from the previous parts.**_

 _ **I use only canon characters, mostly from the games but maybe a few minor ones from the anime and PokéSpe manga, but some of them are reimagined, though I still want to characterize them well. The Ranger Union is a bit different as well from the Ranger games. This story is mostly original, kind of an AU but still based on elements of the games, like the stuff about Red disappearing.**_

 ** _WARNING: I'll keep things T-rated so there will be no sex or overly graphic violence, but there might be mild language, mature themes and some mild violence ahead - along with possible character death._**

 _ **I hope to make this an epic, character-driven adventure story with action, friendship, twists and lame jokes. I hope I can achieve that goal. All feedback is welcome, positive or negative, but I'm okay with you just reading it. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy what's about to come, chapter 2 coming soon!**_


	2. The Wishmaker

**Chapter Two: _The Wishmaker_**

Kris felt like an inmate in a maximum security prison out of some gritty TV show as she and Iris were escorted through the prison's dungeon-like hallways with their hands in chains. Two Pokémon Rangers escorted them while Solana led the way, marching ahead with determination.

As the group arrived upstairs, however, things turned brighter as they entered what appeared to be a hallway in some public office building, headed towards imposing-looking double doors. Kris heard Iris nervously whispering to herself besides her, and she couldn't blame her. If this region really was as serious as the guide implied… the only battles Kris would be having were against shank-wielding inmates in a prison.

But before they got to the doors, the group was interrupted by loud yelling, then rapid footsteps as another Ranger rushed to meet, almost tipping over objects as he ran. And Kris only knew one person who moved like that.

"Stop!" the Ranger, a tall, skinny boy of about Kris and Iris' age with pointy, blonde hair yelled. "Hold up!"

"Barry?!" Kris and Iris said at the same time.

Kris, Iris, Solana and the escorts had stopped a while ago – Barry did not, instead crashing straight into one of the Rangers.

"Watch it!" he snapped at the Ranger, as if _he_ hadn't been the one to crash like an idiot. "Hey, you, Selena-"

"Solana," the leading Ranger said through gritted teeth.

"Right, sorry, I'll _definitely_ remember next time!" Barry prattled on – he talked as fast as he moved. "Anyway, they said I could talk to these two alone for a while before the hearing. They're my friends, you see!"

 _In a loose sense of the word_ , Kris thought.

"You have two minutes!" Solana said rudely, and to prove her point, she grabbed a stopwatch from her pocket and started taking time as she and the two other Rangers moved aside a bit so Kris, Iris and Barry could talk.

"Well, well!" Barry said excitedly as he jumped up and down in place. "Kris, Iris, my dearest friends! Came all the way to Fiore just to see me, eh? Should have known you two troublemakers would make yourselves known here in Fiore, huh?"

Kris and Iris glanced at each other. They were indeed 'acquaintances' with Barry and had met him while investigating Team Galactic in Sinnoh, but back then, it didn't feel like Barry liked anyone in the world besides his best friend Lucas. And he wasn't shy about expressing it.

"Uh, hi, Barry," Kris said awkwardly.

"Yeah, hi," Iris said nervously. "Say, they didn't feed you any wacky herbs here, did they?"

Barry laughed – which frightened Kris and Iris even more. "It's _so_ good to see you again! Anyway, listen, once I heard it was you two who got nabbed for poaching, I rushed over here straight away! Thanks to the top Rangers here, I get to help you out, so just a few pieces of advice: just tell them that you love Pokémon and you made an honest mistake and you'll never break a rule here again. It's super easy to lie here!"

"But it's the truth!" Kris protested.

Barry winked at her. "Now you're getting it," he said. "Anyway, I gotta go, but just do everything your defense counselor says and you'll be fine! Okayseeyagottago! I'll be there, trust me, there's a million poké-dollar fine for me if I'm late!"

Barely catching half of what Barry said, Kris yelled after him as the boy rushed away.

"Wait!"

Barry turned around, though he kept running in place like a neurotic Pikachu after five cups of coffee.

"Who _is_ our defense counselor?!" Kris asked him.

"Me!" Barry announced cheerfully and ran off.

As the Pokémon Rangers began escorting Kris and Iris towards the double doors again, a terrified Kris was certain that her career as a trainer was over.

 **~o~O~o~**

The hearing had begun in earnest, with four people called the Base Leaders acting as judges. Apparently Solana wasn't officially head of the base, just the field team assigned there, while the local base was headed by a laid-back, soft-voiced guy called Cameron. Solana herself, unsurprisingly enough, was the prosecutor, but the so-called defense counselor had yet to arrive.

Finally, as Kris was already wandering if she could escape through the window, Barry stormed into the courtroom wearing a black cloak and an old-fashioned white wig – which made no sense as everyone else was wearing normal clothes or Ranger uniforms. The sight of this alone made Kris plant her face on the desk.

Nonetheless, the judges were still negotiating amongst themselves, which allowed Barry enough time to catch up as he squeezed between Kris and Iris.

"Barry, I'm going to regret asking this, but do you have the slightest idea of what you're doing?" Kris asked him immediately.

"What? Of course I do!" Barry protested and showed Kris a messy pile of papers he had brought. "I even have notes!"

"Have you done this sort of thing before?" Iris asked.

Barry laughed. "Of course not!" he said cheerfully. "But I've played a lot of video games with similar themes. I think I've got it."

Kris had to bite her own fist to avoid yelling out.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Barry asked Iris. "It's been a month, right?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story," Iris said. "We'll tell you if we manage to get out of this. Shouldn't Dawn and Lucas be with you?"

Barry's constant smirking stopped for a moment. "They're in the neighboring region, Almia, have been for two weeks. _Together._ They're working as assistant instructors in the Ranger School."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kris said. "Must suck getting ditched, huh?"

"What? No, I wanted to stay here!" Barry snapped. "Two weeks worth of traveling with those two was enough for me. I know Lucas was never the sharpest bulb in the harbor, but being with _her_ seems to make his brain turn to mush!"

Barry's insane grin soon returned. "But this is gonna be great! I've always wanted to be a defense attorney, you know!"

"All right, silence, please," one of the judges, a purple-haired woman, announced. "Let's begin the case of the Ranger Union versus-"

"OBJECTION!" Barry yelled as he suddenly stood up from his seat.

The judge raised her eyebrows at him. "Um, we haven't started yet."

"I know, but I wanted to say that," Barry said with a grin. "Plus I wanted to test the acoustics here. Trust me, I'll be saying it a lot more times, believe me!"

"Rrright," the judge said, shrugged and moved on, reading from her papers in a bored tone. "The case of Ranger Union versus Kris of New Bark Town and Iris of the Village of Dragons. The two stand accused of… well, some of the charges were so outlandish that we've decided to stick with poaching."

"Another poaching case?!" cried out another judge, a young green-haired man wearing a bandanna groaned. "Reported by Solana, no doubt?"

"Hey!" Solana protested.

"Yes, Solana, we're all tired of having to come here several times a week," the lady judge told her. "This is a standard Ranger violation hearing, not a criminal courtroom, and we these aren't our day jobs."

"It isn't?" Iris whispered in confusion.

"Man, she's ruining the mood," Barry muttered.

"Anyway, prosecution, feel free to begin," the purple-haired judge yawned. "Solana, you're up."

"Thank you, your honor," Solana said pretentiously as she stood up. "I call my first witness: Solana, Top Ranger of Summerland!"

The judges all look confused, but true to her word, Solana grabbed her own collar and dragged herself to the witness' stand.

"You are Solana, correct?" Solana asked herself and immediately replied: "That's right, Solana of Summerland! And were you there when these two monstrous outsiders attempted to assault an innocent Vulpix? Well, I wouldn't necessarily use those words, but – enough! You are under oath, Ms. Solana, tell the truth! All right, all right, please, this is a stressful situation..."

As Solana rambled on, Kris leaned closer to Barry.

"I mean no offense, but is she crazy?" she asked him.

"Solana?" Barry asked. "She graduated Ranger School with historically good grades, has successfully stopped dozens of poachers, smugglers, criminal gangs and natural accidents. She personally answers to Chairperson Erma, who practically runs this country, and is one of her favorite Rangers. Everyone in the Union knows of her."

"I see..."

"Oh, but she _is_ crazy, though," Barry said earnestly. "You gotta be to get to as high as she is at… what, she's like 24, 25? And yet she's already worked harder than many senior Rangers combined."

After Solana had finished rambling, she called further testimonies and showed photographic and ballistic evidence of Kris' misdemeanor (and Iris' guilt by association), in a speech that lasted for almost an hour. And yet, every grandiose speech she made just seemed to repeat the same thing: that Kris tried to capture a Vulpix. And yet the tone she used to describe it made it sound like Kris had kidnapped a baby Vulpix belonging to a sick child, then ate it on live television and gloated about it on Twitter afterward. Solana definitely knew how to gather the crowd on her side.

When it was finally Barry's turn and he stood up proudly, people started whispering about his weird clothes.

"Your honor," Barry began, "I am to prove that these two are as innocent as pure white snow on the smile of a baby angel. Well, except for the poaching thing, I mean, after that evidence – _whew_! I don't think I'll talk my way out of that. Anyway… the defense calls Iris of the Village of Dragons as a witness."

Iris stared at Kris in wide-eyed horror, but Kris urged her to go – if only because everyone was staring at them. Iris nervously shuffled to the witness' stand and tried to wave at the crowd, but when the chains made it impossible, she just smiled awkwardly at them.

"Now, Iris, as an accomplice, you are facing a lighter sentence anyway, so there's no need to be nervous or hide anything," Barry told her while eying the crowd smugly. "Just answer me this: do you think Kris would be the kind of person to break the law?"

Iris opened her mouth to answer without hesitation – but only quiet wheezing came out. She then stared into nothing as she started to ponder about the answer. Turning to the judges, she asked:

"Am I under some kind of oath?"

"No one took any oaths here, just answer the question as best you can," the purple-haired judge said, clearly confused.

"Well… okay, Kris, don't hate me for this or anything," Iris said nervously, "but she did try to capture the Vulpix."

The crowd gasped audibly. Kris face-palmed.

"Not only that, but she did almost make her Feraligatr attack it," Iris said, and someone in the audience fainted. "But, you see, it didn't obey her, so she tried to attack it herself-"

"Attack it?" Barry asked. "Like, physically?"

"Oh, she would never hurt a Pokémon!" Iris said quickly. "I mean, she can be short-tempered and selfish and mean… oh, and during her first gym battle, she almost gave her Sandshrew a concussion."

"A concussion?" Barry wondered, seemingly forgetting who he was defending. "Like, with a blunt instrument?"

Iris bit her nails nervously. "Crap, I'm explaining it wrong! The battle just got a bit rough, that's all. I mean, she had just gotten the Sandshrew and it was only Pokémon who would obey her… um, wait, that doesn't sound good, doesn't it?"

"So, Kris was in possession of a dangerous beast she couldn't even control?" Barry asked. "Aware that any damages this Feraligatr would cause would be her responsibility?"

" _Barry_!" Kris hissed.

"Hm? Oh, um, right, no further questions."

Barry and Iris returned to Kris' table, Barry sighing in relief. "Well, glad that's over," he whispered to Kris. "That went _real_ badly. But hey, can't win 'em all, right?"

"Your honor," said Solana, standing up. "The prosecution suggests a sentence of twenty years to Kris, and twelve years to Iris for accessory!"

"Man, she is _good_!" Barry muttered.

"Okay, that's it!" Kris snapped and stood up herself. "Your honorable… whatever you are. I made a mistake, that's it! At this point, I'd normally say I wouldn't do it again, but you people annoy me so much that I probably _will_ do it, just to screw with you! I'd gladly track down the same Vulpix and pummel it with Poké Balls until it was mine! Because where I come from, Pokémon are our friends! We go and capture them and make them fight each other because of friendly competition, to create bonds between our species, and to channel a Pokémon's innate desire for battle for useful purposes."

Every sensible part of Kris knew she should stop, but right now, the side that blurted out awkward things was in full control as she continued her speech.

"You say we broke some laws?" Kris asked. "I say, we acted in accordance of what's natural to us! We did as our nature demands! We're no different from Pokémon, but you wouldn't throw a Fearow into jail for eating a Magikarp! I mean, if they do that… anyway, the point is, we were acting like normal people, and if you people are so used to your ass-backwards laws, then you better be willing to face the consequences! I have spoken!"

Kris sat down, all eyes in the room staring at her, Iris with her mouth open in terror. As realization kicked in, Kris turned to look at Barry and Iris nervously.

"Yeah, that screwed us over even worse, didn't it?" she said.

Barry was the only one who hadn't paid attention to Kris. Instead, he seemed to find something in his PokéGear terribly interesting, which pissed Kris off even more.

"Does the defense have anything to add?" the purple-haired judge asked with a sigh.

Barry glanced at Kris and Iris, holding up five fingers and silently mouthing something – possibly either 'five more minutes' or 'pies for piglets', though Kris was fairly sure which one.

"Yes, your honor, I do," Barry said as he picked up his notes and organized them as slowly as possible. When he was finally ready, he cleared his throat and continued: "Fellow Rangers, you have heard all the evidence presented to you today, but in the end, you must look into your hearts to see who the real culprit is. Once you've given it enough thought, I'm sure you will come to the same conclusion: that my clients, Kris and Iris, are totally and utterly _guilty_."

Sitting down contently, Barry suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned his notes over, then quickly sprang up again.

"- _of nothing more_ than attempting to introduce themselves to our wonderful culture. In the face of such a heartfelt desire to learn, surely a minor mistake can be forgiven."

The purple-haired judge glared at Barry. "If you don't have anything else to add, I suggest we-"

But just at that moment, the double doors were slammed open. A tall, athletic male Pokémon Ranger with dark hair and bright blue eyes entered the room, prompting excited whispering from all over. When Kris had arrived, everything in the region (except for Barry, which wasn't really a good thing) was unfamiliar to her, but she recognized the Ranger all too well – it was Lunick, with whom she had worked in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Barry immediately took advantage of the situation:

"The defense calls for Top Ranger Lunick to the witness stand!" Barry said excitedly.

Kris' nervousness seemed to melt away as Lunick was questioned by the judges. Though he made zero effort to deny that Kris had indeed tried to capture the Vulpix, he talked in great length about what Kris and Iris had done before, how they had helped him take down criminal gangs and how the two had an outstanding love for Pokémon. The people in the courtroom clearly had no idea what he was talking about (the dealings of people in other regions weren't very important to the Rangers), but apparently they respected him enough to take him for his word.

Once Lunick was done, the four judges convened to mutter amongst each other for a few minutes, Kris and Iris waiting tensely. Finally, the purple-haired judge announced the verdict:

"In the case of the Ranger Union versus Kris and Iris. For the crime of poaching, we find the defendants-"

 **~o~O~o~**

"Whoo!" Kris hooted. "Not guilty! Heck yeah!"

Lunick escorted Kris through the hallways of the Summerland Ranger Base, where the courtroom was. Barry had taken Iris to retrieve their Pokémon and other stuff, allowing Kris a moment to catch up with Lunick.

"But what are you doing here?" Kris asked Lunick. "I wondered where you went after we split ways. I even thought you found a way, you know, back to your own, um... time."

There was another thing about Lunick why Kris was interested in him. After all, not many people could say he used to live in area that was now the Ruins of Alph in Johto… __before__ they became ruins, hundreds of years in the past. After an incident with Celebi displaced him in time, he ended up in the Ranger Union, which probably lessened the culture shock a bit - imagine if he had ended up in the middle of a busy street in Saffron or Goldenrod! From there, Team Aqua managed to appeal to him with their claims of being environmentalists, but thanks to Kris, he saw the light, and helped bring down not only Team Aqua, but also Team Galactic later on, from within the gang.

"It didn't work," Lunick said calmly. "It would seem I'm to stay here. But it's all right," he said quickly when Kris looked worried, "I returned here to Fiore, where they had apparently heard of my escapades. Not that I deserve any credit, I was just along for the ride while you did the work."

"You did more than that," Kris assured him.

Lunick smiled. "Thank you, Kris," he said. "Anyway, they made me a Top Ranger and I've been able to do good work. A month ago, Barry and his two friends arrived here. Barry was nice enough to instruct me in the use of these... things," Lunick showed Kris the PokéGear. "As soon as I heard you and Iris had been arrested, well, I had to do something."

"And it was great!" Kris said excitedly. "I'm a free woman!"

"Remember the conditions," Lunick said. "You're only allowed to stay in the Ranger Union if you-"

"-adapt to the Ranger lifestyle, which means the clothes, the gear and the license to act smug, got it," Kris said quickly. "I'll bear it, in fact, I'm really, _really_ looking forward to it!"

 _ **Ten minutes later, outside the Summerland Ranger Base**_

"Is it still too late to get deported?" Kris asked as she and Iris stood outside with their Ranger uniforms on.

Their Pokémon were nearby, frolicking away in a large, fenced area reserved for Rangers' Pokémon when not with their partners. Kris' Chandelure, Froslass and Gardevoir were there, as were Iris' Excadrill, Goodra and Dragalge. Kris decided to take Croc as her partner while Iris went with her Haxorus. Iris' Haxorus had only evolved a month ago and was still getting used to its new size – and the fact it could no longer jump in Iris' lap whenever it saw her. Fortunately, no bones were broken.

Lunick handed Kris and Iris both a red device with a small screen and antenna attached to it, just like the one they had seen Solana wield.

"That right there is the most important item a Ranger will ever have," Lunick lectured. "It is called a Capture Styler, a device that allows us Rangers to do our jobs."

"It captures Pokémon?" Kris asked as she tried to find some games from the thing. "Hypocrites, much?"

"The name is misleading, I know, we get that all the time," Lunick sighed. "At any rate, the Capture Styler has many functions. Most are self-explanatory and can be found from your Gear-device, um, _things_ , like the map and the clock. But there are two specific ones that I will explain for you now. Now, for your partner Pokémon..."

Lunick helped Kris and Iris guide their Pokémon to their positions about five yards away from their trainers. Haxorus waited patiently, eager to help Iris, while Croc clearly didn't like playing along, exposing its teeth at Lunick as he tried to adjust the Feraligatr's position.

"I… think that should do it," Lunick said and quickly got some distance between him and Croc. "Okay, then, first, when a Ranger requires the assistance of a Pokémon, they must make their intentions known. This is a revolutionary device that allows limited communication between Pokémon and humans. Observe."

Lunick put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Soon after, there was loud rustling coming from the nearby trees, followed by Lunick's Sceptile landing gracefully next to him. Lunick merely nodded at the Pokémon, and the Sceptile assumed its place next to Croc, who glared at it, challenging it, but Sceptile dutifully ignored the Feraligatr.

"The process is simple," Lunick said. "You point this device at the Pokémon and press this button." Lunick pressed a button in the middle of the Capture Styler, which opened a hatch and launched a little spinning top-like device floating towards his Sceptile.

"Using the remote-control functions of the Styler, you can control that top, which is known as a Capture Disc," Lunick said as the top started looping around Sceptile, leaving a trail of blue beams behind it. "By looping it enough times around the Pokémon, you can transmit friendship to the Pokémon, thus allowing you to-"

"Excuse me?" Kris asked incredulously. "Friendship? So this device essentially crams friendship into the Pokémon's brains? Great, we'll try that next time a wild Ursaring attacks us in the woods!"

"Please, Kris, I have no idea how this works, so I'm using simple terms," Lunick said. The Capture Disc floated back inside the Styler, and the Styler's screen showed an image of Lunick's Sceptile. "Now, the second important function of the Styler are Poké Assists. Essentially, they allow the Ranger to use the Pokémon's powers in tandem with the Styler for non-violent purposes. For example, putting down fires for water-types, chopping trees for any with sharp claws, immobilizing criminals, farming, heavy lifting, construction, cooking, whatever you can think of."

Kris rolled her eyes, unimpressed with the whole situation, causing Iris to jab her with her elbow.

"What?!" Kris snapped. "I just find this all a bit silly, that's all."

"When in Fiore, do what the Rangers do, Kris," Iris lectured. "Besides, this is cool! I mean, we use Pokémon for stuff that isn't battling in other regions as well, but to imagine the Rangers managed to do it such an organized fashion… hey, Lunick, who invented these things? This is ingenious!"

"That would be professor Hastings, one of the founders of the Ranger Union," Lunick said.

Kris and Iris looked at each other, probably thinking the same thing. Leaf had mentioned a scientist in Fiore who knew about Jirachi and the prophecies, and now Kris and Iris had a place to start.

"This Hastings, he lives here in Fiore, right?" Iris asked.

"I believe he resides in Almia most of the time," Lunick said. "He does visit the lab in Fall City from time to time. I have no idea where he is at the moment, I'm afraid. He is in charge of the research done in this entire country, so it's only natural that he's busy."

Kris and Iris sighed. Getting a hold of this guy wasn't going to be as easy as just knocking on his door, it would seem. Still, Iris was quick to get her enthusiasm back.

"Well, I wanna try the Capture Styler!" she beamed. "Let's see you pressed… this button? _Whoa_!"

Iris was started as her Capture Disc flew towards her Haxorus, though in a much more wobbly line than with Lunick. Iris tried her best to keep the Capture Disc steady, but it took a few attempts to successfully make it loop around Haxorus. The dragon-type just looked mildly curious about the disc and didn't seemed to have changed, but the image of Haxorus and a list of the Poké Assists and field move it could perform soon appeared on Iris' Styler.

"Hey, that wasn't so hard!" Iris said.

"Well, if you already know the Pokémon, obviously," Lunick said with a smile. "But a Ranger often goes out to recruit wild Pokémon for their cause, and shooting a flying disc that leaves bright beams behind at them isn't nearly as easy as just chucking an apricorn at them."

"You mean Poké Ball?" Kris asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah, right, those. Anyway, Kris, do you want to try next?"

Kris glanced at Croc, who was laying on the ground and picking its teeth with its claws, not really caring about anything, and sighed mournfully.

"Maybe later," she groaned. "Lunick, I don't know if I have what it takes. The only thing I have ever been good at is Pokémon battles, and even then I'm just kinda mediocre. I mean, my strongest Pokémon only obeys me some of the time and I'm still not letting it sleep in the same room with me."

"You don't?!" Iris wondered as she was hugging her Haxorus. "But it's so great, though! Okay, I mean, I won't let Goodra or Dragalge in my bed, but cuddling with Haxorus is the best!"

"Well, I'm not a freak," Kris muttered under her breath.

"You'll get the hang of it," Lunick assured. "I mean, the first time I laid eyes on this thing, I was confused out of my mind! But apparently they tell me there's some kind of network with pictures of naked people inside it these days, so I guess anything's possible."

Kris tried not to laugh. "Still, though," she complained. "No battles, no capturing, no competitions, what do you people do here?!"

"Actually, Top Rangers like me and Solana are allowed to organize sparring matches from time to time," Lunick said. "It's tightly controlled, but we still need to do it, because we can't assume everyone plays by our rules. Here, let me show you..."

Lunick took another device out of his pocket. This was also red, looking kind of like a cross between the Capture Styler and a PokéDex, except Lunick attached it to his wrist.

"This is a Fine Styler," Lunick said. "It has more power and allows for more sophisticated Assists, including some offensive ones. Only Top Rangers have these, though you probably noticed Solana using the standard Styler."

"Why does she do that?" Iris asked.

"Probably to prove that she can," Kris guessed. "What's with her, anyway?"

Lunick looked nervous and looked around him, like Solana was withing hearing distance or something. "Well, I'm not exactly a friend of hers," he said quietly, "but you'll still have to forgive her behavior. She takes her work _very_ seriously, especially now. I think I forgot to mention, but Chairperson Erma is visiting Summerland today, and Solana is in charge of protecting her. Not that anyone's ever tried to hurt her so far, but you can never be too careful. There are criminal gangs in Fiore and Almia as well."

"Oh, great," Kris groaned. "More idiots in stupid clothing with vague plans involving legendary Pokémon, right? Weird as it sounds, I miss when the worst I had to deal with was some thugs chopping off Slowpoke tails."

"I'll tell you about it later," Lunick said. "For now… um, would you perhaps like to…?"

Kris frowned. It was unusual to see this guy hesitate about anything.

"...have a m-match with me, perhaps?" Lunick finished with a stutter. "You know, uh, a good old-fashioned Pokémon battle?"

"Oh, sure!" Kris said excitedly. "Absolutely! But won't you get in trouble?"

"Hey, I put in the good word for you, and they trust me here," Lunick assured. "I told them you were both accomplished Pokémon trainers. I'm the only reason you two are allowed to use those Stylers instead of the ones they give to students."

"You coming, Iris?" Kris asked. "You can be the ref!"

"Actually, I'd like to know more about this Hastings guy," Iris said quietly. "And about the Ranger Union, if you're… uh, I mean, _we're_ ever gonna fit in."

"The base here has a really good library," Lunick said. "You'll find what you need there."

"You had to say the magic word," Kris muttered.

Indeed, Iris had squealed in joy when the word 'library' had been mentioned.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Ranger Base, Summerland, Fiore**_

 _ **Half an hour later**_

Deciding to keep Haxorus in its Poké Ball to avoid any funny looks when a six-foot tall dragon followed her with its tail wagging like an excited Growlithe, Iris had dived headfirst into the collection in the base library. Seeing they had books about pretty much _everything_ – in two floors, no less – Iris grabbed everything she could find on the Ranger Union's history, ancient prophecies and legendary Pokémon she could find and hid behind a mountain of books at a table in the second floor.

But as much as she learned about the Rangers and their lifestyle and professor Hastings, nothing in the books pointed to Jirachi, the prophecies or Hastings' current whereabouts. The internet didn't help either, and the battery on Iris' PokéGear was running low, making her wonder if she could call it a day.

"Excuse me, miss," a soft voice asked from behind the pile of books, breaking Iris from her book-induced trance, "have you finished reading this?"

Iris moved the books aside to see a man holding up a copy of ' _Rare Pokémon in Fiore, Almia and Oblivia_ '. The man was probably in his early 20's, very tall and thin with long, tea green hair and grayish blue eyes. He wasn't wearing the usual Ranger Uniform and looked distantly familiar to Iris.

"Oh, sure," Iris said in exhaustion and continued reading her book on ancient languages, her brain barely keeping up anymore. "Feel free to tell me if you find what you need there cause it didn't help me at _all_."

The man smiled warmly at Iris as he took the book. "Perhaps I can help you," he said. "I've spent a lot of time in this library these past few weeks and have read quite a few of these books."

Iris glanced at the man. She supposed there was no harm in asking him, and she needed a short break from the text, anyway.

"I need info on a Pokémon called Jirachi," Iris said. "And good luck with that, even searching online just got me some fairy tales."

"Jirachi, the Wish Pokémon," the man said immediately. "Legends say it wakes up for seven days every one thousand years to grant any wish to those who seek it."

Iris stared at the man, who smiled and shrugged. "I read a _lot,"_ he said casually. "See, you're looking for legendary Pokémon, creatures we already know exist in small numbers. They're rare and powerful and most people never see them, but science has already proven that they exist. What you need..."

The man handed Iris a book titled ' _Glossary of Mythical Pokémon_ '.

"...is this. This book contains information on Pokémon mentioned in myths, legends and folk tales. Sightings of these Pokémon exist in very small numbers and scientists haven't been able to prove or disprove their existence. Jirachi, considering its farfetched powers, is one of them."

Iris looked at the man carefully. "Have we met?" she asked. "You sound Unovan."

"It's possible, I have traveled a lot these past few months," the man said, "and yes, I'm from Unova. It's nice to meet you, Iris from the Village of Dragons."

Iris flinched. "How do you-"

"It's written on your bag," the man pointed out. "It says 'Iris from the Village of Dragons is less than three', doesn't it?"

Iris took her bag off the table and put it on the floor. "Everyone always says that," she muttered. "It's supposed to be a heart!"

"Well, it's good to meet you" the man said and extended his hand. "The name's N."

Iris shook his hand. "The letter? That's… an unusual name. Um, I mean no offense, of course! Just, um-"

"I know," N assured. "It still beats my real name. Which I will _not_ tell, by the way."

"Oh, I won't laugh," Iris said sincerely.

"Yes, you will."

"Come on!"

"Fine," N sighed. "Natural Harmonia Gropius."

Iris snorted and tried her best to stifle a laugh. "It's, um… original," she said tensely.

N shook his head. "Now you see why I prefer N," he said. "Not like I chose this though. Parents, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"Speaking of which," N said, "excuse me for saying, but you a look a bit young. What do your parents think about you traveling this far to Unova by yourself?"

"I'm 17, I'm almost an adult," Iris huffed. "And… I was raised by the village Matriarch after my parents… well..."

N's smile faded. "I'm sorry," he said.

"You didn't know," Iris said and put on a weak smile. "But really, everyone in the village has been good to me, letting me study in Opelucid Academy, letting me go on this journey… it's been a great ride."

"I understand, actually," N said sympathetically. "I never knew my parents. I was raised my by foster father and two stepsisters."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Iris said.

"No need. They've all been good to me as well, and my stepfather is a kind, wise man. The only thing that I didn't like was how overprotective he was. Well into adulthood, I never left Unova. It wasn't until my 23rd birthday a few months back when he decided I was ready. I wanted to see what was out there, see other lands, other cultures."

"I know the feeling," Iris said, now completely lost in the conversation. "How have you liked it so far?"

"I've been to many places, but I'm sad to say I've witnessed way too much selfishness in most other regions," N said bitterly. "People everywhere treating their Pokémon like possessions, like mere things. It sickened me. But here in the Ranger Union, people have the right idea. It's just a shame it can never work in Unova..."

"Uh… huh."

An awkward silence fell between the two. Well, N didn't look awkward, but Iris wasn't sure what to say.

The silence was broken by sudden sounds of screaming from downstairs, followed by loud noises of combat – chairs being knocked around, bookcases being destroyed, windows getting broken. This was followed by loud – music? After exchanging puzzled looks, Kris and N both stood up, Iris letting Haxorus out of its Poké Ball. The dragon-type was about to roar in joy, but Iris put a finger on her lips to silence it. Kris, N and Haxorus sneaked down the stairs to get a better look of what was happening down there. And it was stranger than what Iris thought possible.

Four young adults dressed in long coats, who all had their hair dyed either white, platinum blonde or light blue, were playing the deafeningly loud music: there were three men and one woman, who played the guitar, bass, an ashiko drum and a violin, respectively. And while they rocked on, two Vigoroth and two Scyther ran amok around the library, destroying everything they could.

"All right, N!" Iris said into N's ear, believing the quartet's music to drown her out. "You grab your strongest Pokémon, and-"

"I don't carry any Pokémon with me," N said. "I wish to honor the rules of the Rangers."

"Oh..."

"I have a plan, though," N assured. "You and Haxorus keep them busy. Try to draw their attention to you."

"What are you-"

But N had already slipped away. So, when Iris nodded at Haxorus, the mighty dragon let out a roar so loud even the rocking quartet could hear it. They all stopped playing and turned to look at Iris.

"Okay, what's your deal?" Iris asked them. "Do you just hate learning or something? Why, of all places, a library?!"

When the violinist saw her, she totally ignored what Iris was saying and instead turned to the other three.

"Boys, our motto!" she yelled.

Iris just looked baffled as the four musicians assumed some kind of pose, all facing Iris, with stupid grins on all their faces.

" _Pokémon a go-go_!" they all yelled.

Iris blinked. "Wha-"

" _Even if you're in a hurry, stop in your tracks_!" the bass player yelled and played a funky bass solo.

" _Open your ears to our melodic attacks_!" sang the violinist, who finished with a brief violin solo.

" _The rhythm of rage pounds the ground_!" announced the drummer and played an ashiko solo.

" _Let the melody of ambition rise to the skies_!" shouted the guitarist and played a heavily distorted guitar solo.

" _If you don't know us, we'll cure your ignorance!"_ the group sang, and prepared to announce their names. " _Billy_!" The guitarist struck a pose. " _Garret_!" The bass player bowed politely. " _Clyde_!" The drummer smiled smugly and made a victory sign. " _Tiffany_!" the violinist winked and made a little pirouette. " _The Go-Rock Squad's hot prospect band, of key-shaker-and-taker celebrities! A name once heard and never forgotten! The Go-Rock Quads~_!"

They all finished their song, playing their instrument at once while, somehow, confetti fell on them from the ceiling. When Garret, the bassist, inhaled some confetti and started coughing, Billy made throat-cutting gestures and the group stopped playing. Iris started clapping sarcastically, but the Go-Rock Quads didn't seem to get it, instead choosing to just bow.

"Thank, thank you, you're too kind," Billy said. "Also, big round of applause for our number one fan, the only one who didn't run like a coward from us, huh?"

The Go-Rock Quads all applauded. Haxorus hissed at them, but Iris kept it from attacking… just yet.

"So, you're… a band of thugs?" Iris asked. "Like, a literal band? I'm just trying to understand the situation."

"We're siblings!" Tiffany announced and grabbed Clyde and Garret by their shoulders roughly. "The children of the mighty Gordor, admins of the Go-Rock Squad! You've heard of us, haven't you?"

"I… can't say I have," Iris said. "Um, sorry."

"Pshaw, the Go-Rock Squad are yesterday's news, man," Clyde said and rudely smacked his sister's arm away. "You gotta keep fresh! The Grand Master runs things now!"

"Nice drum, by the way," Iris said to the drummer.

"Oh, thanks, dude," Clyde said, the use of 'dude' confusing Iris even more. "The ashiko's really hot right now. It's got that retro-ethnic-faux-hip-style to it, you know?"

"...I really don't."

"Clyde, little bro, please stop bugging this charming young lady with such tripe," Garret said smoothly, having gotten the confetti out of his throat. "Now then, miss, I assume you're going to, how you say, attempt to stop us from committing our crimes? Make us see the error of our ways?"

"I just kinda want to kick your asses, then ask why bother rampaging in a library."

"Feel free to try!" Billy said and grabbed his guitar pick. "Because we're gonna rock you like a hurric – _ow_!"

A book from a nearby bookcase suddenly flew off and smacked Billy in the back of the head. When it distracted the others, Iris nodded at Haxorus, who jumped at the Go-Rock Quads, taking on all four of their Pokémon at once. Blocking one of the Scyther's attacks with its claws, it grabbed the Scyther with its other hand and chucked it at a Vigoroth. Iris took cover while the remaining three Go-Rock Quads started running around in panic.

"Hey, man, what gives?!" Clyde wailed.

"She's not using Poké Assists, you idiot!" Tiffany yelled. "That kid's not a Ranger at all!"

 _Oh yeah_ , Iris thought as she looked at her Capture Styler. There was a list of all the Assists and field moves Haxorus could pull off, but Iris had no idea what they did or how they worked. Randomly, she chose the 'Ground' Poké Assist.

The Styler launched a Capture Disc at the Go-Rock Quads while Haxorus glowed and started stomping the ground. Realizing what to do, Iris made the Disc loop around the Quads' Pokémon, which caused the earth around them to churn, making them all lose their balance. One of the Vigoroth hid behind a fallen desk, so Iris chose the field move 'Tackle'. Without Iris having to say anything, Haxorus grabbed another fallen table and pushed it at the table the Vigoroth was hiding behind, knocking it out of cover. When Iris chose the 'Crush' field move, Haxorus smashed a table, sending pieces flying at the enemy Pokémon and knocking all out except for one last Scyther.

The Go-Rock Quads also had their own ways of controlling the Pokémon, as when Garret played a few chords on his bass, the Scyther returned to him. Curiously, Iris selected what seemed like the most natural choice to her: the Dragon Poké Assist.

She made the Capture Disc fly to the Quads while Haxorus glowed in a hue of purple. For a second, nothing seemed to happen. Then, a small meteor unexpectedly crashed through the library's roof, landing at the Go-Rock Quads and causing an explosion that raised up a cloud of smoke and dust so thick that Iris couldn't see a thing.

By the time it was gone, the Go-Rock Quads and their Pokémon were all in one unconscious pile in the middle of splinter and debris.

"N?!" Kris called out. "You okay?!"

Fortunately, N emerged from behind cover, having quickly hidden when the meteor arrived, making Iris sigh with relief.

"That was excellent work, Iris," N praised. "It's just a shame that these people exist in the Ranger Union as well. Using Pokémon to satisfy their evil needs… it's inexcusable."

"I'm just glad no one got hurt," Iris said, glanced at the Quads, and added: "Apart from them. That Poké Assist isn't something I'm gonna try in the near future. At least not indoors. But it was cool," she told Haxorus and patted the Pokémon gratefully on its arm, not reaching the head.

Billy, the guitarist, was coming to after N had struck him with the book. Noticing his siblings laying unconscious on the floor, he groaned, but he came to when Haxorus grabbed him roughly by his collar.

" _Now_ do you want to tell me why you came here?!" Iris asked him harshly. "Or is this just a punk thing? Like, do you enjoy trashing the place?"

"We're with the Go-Rock Squad!" Billy announced defiantly. "You can't comprehend our elaborate master pla-"

"The Go-Rock Squad was disbanded," N pointed out. "I heard Solana united Fiore's Ranger Base heads to defeat Gordor, their leader, a few months back. That's how she became a Top Ranger."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, professor," Billy spat. "Okay, so we're not with the Squad anymore, we're mercs! We go where the job is! We've been kind of short on cash since our dad skipped the country!"

"Yeah, I heard your brother," Iris said. "Who is this 'Grand Master'?"

But Billy just laughed.

"Trust me, girl, nothing you can do to me can compare to what _he'll_ do if he finds out I talked," he said. "Besides, we did everything he wanted."

"What do you mean?" Iris asked.

Billy laughed again. "Chairperson Erma is on her way to the docks, for her visit, isn't she? Too bad every Ranger in the area is probably on their way here to fix the hubbub in the library, leaving that poor old woman all defenseless..."

"Damn it!" Iris swore. "Haxorus, let go of him!"

Billy continued laughing even when Haxorus dropped him. Iris grabbed her Capture Styler.

"Let's hope Kris has figured out how to use this thing," Iris said as she typed a message. "N, I need to get to the harbor! Can you help me out?"

N just stared at Billy, who kept laughing hysterically as he just lay on the ground, accepting his punishment.

"N!" Iris yelled.

"We're just going to leave them here?" N asked as he stared down at Billy in contempt. "These wastes of human life who would callously use and discard Pokémon like this?"

"The Rangers will deal with them!" Iris told him. "What do you suggest we do with them?"

"Hurt them," N suggested harshly. "Hurt them as much as they hurt their Pokémon."

"And what would that accomplish?!" Iris yelled. "N, we don't have time for this, we need to get there! Are you with me or not?"

N looked at Iris. "I'm with you," he said after a pause. "Lead the way."

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Meanwhile, slightly outside Summerland**_

While Iris was busy with her books, Kris and Lunick's battle was fully underway. When Lunick had chosen his Luxray, Kris had deliberately went with Croc just to prove she could with even with a disadvantage. For now, the two seemed to be equally matched, both the trainers and their Pokémon running tired.

"Luxray, Spark!" Lunick ordered.

Sparkling with electricity, Luxray attempted to tackle Croc, but Kris ordered the Feraligatr to respond with Aqua Tail. Croc managed to whack the Luxray away, but at the cost of getting electrocuted, still it stood strong, not willing to go down just yet.

"Thunderbolt!" Lunick yelled.

"Croc, Ice Punch the ground!" Kris ordered.

It was a strategy Kris and Croc had been working on. As Croc did what was told while Luxray charged its attack, Croc was able to create a solid ice barrier in front of it, deflecting the Thunderbolt away. Kris then ordered a Dynamic Punch and Croc shattered and exploded the ice barrier, sending sharp shards of ice flying towards Luxray. And while the electric-type was busy dodging them, Kris had Croc charge and fire a Hydro Pump attack, which finally knocked Luxray out.

"Aww yeah!" Kris cheered and rushed to hug Croc. "Still got it! Good job, Croc!"

The Feraligatr didn't respond to Kris' hug, but was busy roaring and flexing its muscles. Lunick withdrew Luxray, but he didn't look sad that he lost. He looked downright stoked.

"Wow, Kris!" he said. "I mean… that last move! That was incredible!"

"Ah, 'twas nothing," Kris said. "Oh, screw it, who am I posing for?! It was pretty incredible, huh? We got that idea while we fought a Magnezone on the S.S. Spiral. Damn thing was _this_ close to ruining my winning streak, but that's when the idea came to me."

"I can't believe you still call yourself mediocre after this," Lunick said. "That strategy was just – hold on a second."

Kris looked at Lunick expectantly as he looked at the blinking screen of his wrist-mounted Capture Styler a frown appearing on his face.

"Yes?" Kris asked. "Feel free to go back to praising me!"

"It's a message from Solana," Lunick said. "Chairperson Erma is on her way here now, but something's come up. Also a message from Iris… Kris, haven't you seen any messages on your Styler?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, got a few during the battle," Kris said casually. "It was distracting, so I turned the thing off. What's up?"

Lunick sighed and showed Kris the message he had gotten.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Docks, Summerland, Fiore**_

There was an old, wooden watchtower at the docks, used during times of war. Now abandoned, it still gave a great view of the entire harbor. A few Pokémon Rangers had been guarding the tower, but they had all been dispatched by a mysterious person clad entirely in black, except for a white mask obscuring their face. Not using any Pokémon or weapons, the person's athletic skills alone had managed to knock out three Rangers.

Now, the person, armed with a crossbow firing bolts with cyanide-laced tips, looked out of the tower's observation window, keeping a close eye on the ship that had just arrived to the harbor. The person's objective was simple: assassinate Chairperson Erma as soon as she left the ship and quickly leave before anyone knew what had happened. All the assassin would need was one bolt as, just as they had planned, there were a lot less Rangers at the docks than there should have been, most being busy with the disturbance in the Ranger Base.

But something broke the assassin's concentration: the roaring of a Feraligatr who had somehow sneaked up behind them.

As the assassin turned, Kris, who had made it to the watchtower with Lunick, tried to get a good look. Though the white mask obscured all of the assassin's facial features, from the shape of their body and their curly, blonde hair, Kris' first thought was that it was a woman, though she didn't want to be rude and assume things – and she didn't really care.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," Kris told the assassin. "There's nowhere to run, unless you want to try your luck with that sixty-five foot drop."

Indeed, Lunick and his Sceptile blocked off the exit. Even worse for the assassin, Lunick was soon joined by Iris and Haxorus, who ran up the stairs panting.

"Thank goodness…" Iris panted. "You made it in time… I got worried when you didn't reply to messages..."

"Oh, yeah, I saw them," Kris lied. "Anyway, you, why don't you drop your weapon and surrender quietly. The judges are feeling merciful today, you might not even get a life sentence for this."

The assassin dropped her crossbow and raised her hands, though in a way that Kris could see was incredibly sarcastic, even through the mask.

"Yeah, you won't be getting off the hook just yet," Kris told her. "We need to search you!"

"I'll take care of it," Lunick assured. "Sceptile, come with me."

Looking worried, Iris told her Haxorus. "Hey, back them up, okay?"

The blonde-haired assassin kept her hands up as Lunick and the two Pokémon approached – but as soon as Lunick was within grabbing distance, the assassin suddenly grabbed his arm, twisted it and threw him at Iris' Haxorus with great force. Lunick's Sceptile took a swipe at her with its tail, but the assassin jumped into the air, avoiding the hit and instead landing boots-first on Sceptile's face, dazing the grass-type. Recovering from getting a human thrown at it, Haxorus was next, but the assassin knocked it back with a swift kick in the face, expertly avoiding Haxorus' sharp tusks.

Just as the assassin was about to escape, though, she bumped into Croc, who exposed its teeth at her. Kris stood behind her, afraid to go closer but believing Croc to be intimidating enough.

"Hold it!" Kris yelled at her. "After that, I'm not afraid to tell my Feraligatr to eat you. And he'll do it, mark my words! Now hold still!"

The assassin quickly pulled something out of her sleeve and aimed it at Croc, making Kris cringe – but it was only a black-petaled flower, a tulip if Kris was not mistaken.

"A flower?!" Kris laughed. "This place really _is_ full of hippies. You could have least chosen a rose, I hear those have some sharp tho-"

But the assassin had the last laugh as she fired an electrical blast from the end of the tulip at Croc, the power of the blast knocking the big water-type down. By the time Lunick, Sceptile and Haxorus recovered, the assassin had shoved Kris aside and fled down the stairs. Kris tried to rush to the window, but there was no trace of her anywhere. And that's what frightened her the most – she had temporarily incapacitated three strong Pokémon and one human who had plenty of combat experience.

Still, there was nothing to be done now, so Kris, Iris and Lunick withdrew their Pokémon, Kris healing up Croc with a Potion first. The blast hadn't done much damage to it, but Kris was still worried what would happen if there was to be a next encounter.

"How did you know where to go?" Iris asked Kris as the gang walked down the stairs of the tower.

"Lunick told me about this place, so I figured, if anyone wanted to do something to Erma, they'd go up there," Kris explained. "I'm more interested in how you found your way here."

"Oh, I got help from-"

Iris noticed N wasn't with her anymore. He had pointed Iris to the tower, and she was pretty sure he was behind her when she ran up the stairs, but now… no sign of him.

Iris didn't have to answer, though, as dozens of Rangers, Solana leading them, quickly swarmed the place.

"I want a search team into the Olive Jungle immediately!" Solana ordered her troops. "Don't be afraid to use the deadliest Poké Assists you've got, we need to take this one down! You, you and you, start raiding every building in town, we can't take the chance that she's hiding in someone's home. And what are you doing here?!" she barked at Kris and Iris.

"They helped, Solana," Lunick told her immediately. "They took down the Go-Rock Quads at the base, and they probably just saved Ms. Erma's life by stopping that assassin. How did you know about her?"

"She took down three of my Rangers – useless idiots," Solana scoffed. "So, you two really started making noise, huh?"

"Don't worry," Kris deadpanned, "we'll never help you again."

"Hmph," Solana said. "Guess you weren't completely useless after all..."

Kris was taken by surprise, Iris almost looked hopeful.

"...though you let her get away, so don't go patting yourself on the back just yet," Solana finished. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to-"

"Hey guys, what's with the congregation here, did someone die? Don't shoot me if I'm right!"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the obnoxious voice – it was Barry, unsurprisingly enough, wearing his Ranger uniform sloppily and hastily munching on a bag of potato chips, looking like he had ran all the way there.

"What?!" he shouted when everyone stared at him, spraying crumbs everywhere. "What I do?"

"I requested _every_ Ranger of Summerland to get to the docks!" Solana snapped at him. "Where were you?!"

"Ohhhh, right," Barry said and smacked himself on the forehead, laughing. "Yeah, my bad, my Styler ran out of battery so I was busy charging, I did get the message, but I figured, you know, I can't go till I've charged this baby up, and-"

" _Eugh_!" Solana screamed, rubbing her temples. "I've had it with these newbies! I have to go meet Erma. Everyone who I didn't give an order to – dismissed!"

Indeed, Chairperson Erma's boat had just arrived, and Solana stomped to meet the leader of the Union: a small, elderly woman walking with a cane. Solana hugged Erma like she was her grandmother, but when she noticed people staring, she assumed a more professional tone and escorted her to a Radidash-drawn carriage waiting. Apparently cars were another thing not really used in the Ranger Union, which made Kris wonder how these people got around.

"You didn't really mean what you told her back there?" Iris asked Kris. "Because I think we did help today. We may have saved someone's life!"

"Yeah, sure, but that's not why we're here," Kris said bitterly as she stared as Erma's carriage was pulled away, back towards the Ranger Base. "If that wacko assassin comes back, they can deal with it. I'm leaving this region."

"Aww, come on!" Iris pleaded. "I know this Ranger thing is a lot to take, but you shouldn't give up yet!"

"Who's giving up?" Kris asked cheekily. "Quite the contrary. See, while we were preparing for our battle-"

"Ooh, yeah, that reminds me, who won?!" Iris asked excitedly.

"Me, of course!"

"'Course you did!"

Kris and Iris high-fived, while Lunick looked a bit upset.

"I got close, though," he said meekly.

"Of course you did," Kris assured and patted him on the shoulder. "Anyway, while we prepared, Lunick told me that even these hippies have competitions every now and then, and there's a Ranger Tournament coming up in a few weeks!"

"Yes, but Kris, I didn't get to tell you the catch," Lunick said quickly. "You're not official Rangers yet! Even I had to take a few mandatory classes at the Ranger School in Almia. Everyone who wants to enter that tournament has to take a preparatory, three-week intensive course!"

Kris cursed quietly. "Always a catch," she mumbled.

"Well, what's the big deal?" Barry asked, reminding the others that he hadn't left. "Just head over there and take the course!"

The other three stared at him. "They can do that?" Lunick asked him. "I didn't know that."

"Oh, yeah, Lucas called me a few days back, asked me if I wanted to take a few of their classes," Barry nodded. "They take new students in all the time, and it's totally free! I might even get us free accommodations!"

"'Us'?" Kris repeated.

"Well, I wanna come with you!" Barry said quickly, getting a mad gleam in his eyes. "I wanna see my old buddy-pal-bro Lucas!"

"And Dawn!" Iris reminded.

"Yeah, I suppose I'll have to see her too, huh..."

Kris wasn't particularly keen on taking Barry with her, and she _certainly_ didn't look forward to going back to school, considering her earlier experiences. But she doubted Fiore had anything to offer her and the tournament they were holding sounded like something she wanted to do…

"Fine, you can come with us," Kris told Barry, then turned to Lunick and Iris. "What about you two?"

"Oh, I'm with ya, no problem!" Iris said excitedly. "I mean, it sounds like that professor Hastings guy is easier to find there anyway, plus there might be a library there, too! We're going back to school!"

Everyone stared at Iris' excited squealing.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly when she noticed. "I just have different interests."

"I'll come with you," Lunick assured Kris. "We'll all go! There's still a lot of catching up to do! I think I can help you with some of their classes."

"How do we get there?" Kris asked Barry.

"There's an overnight train leaving from Fall City in a few hours," Barry said. "The school is one of the stops. We should be there by morning."

"Well, off we go," Kris said, and while she was glad of the opportunity, she couldn't help but to sigh. "Back to school, I guess… yay."

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Fiore Temple, Sekra Mountain Range, Fiore**_

 _ **Later that night…**_

Near the top of the Sekra Mountains, at the most northern corner of Fiore, far from human civilization, was an old temple. Partially in ruins, nobody ever stepped into it, not humans nor Pokémon. The last recorded visit seventy years ago ended in disaster, and authorities banned people from coming there.

That was, until tonight.

A group of people wearing brown robes, their faces obscured by hoods, were on their knees inside, in a circle formation. In the middle of them was a large symbol painted on the floor with dark purple paint: a big circle with six spikes protruding out of it, pointing in every direction.

The robe-wearing people kept on muttering some kind of incantation as another man joined them, this one clad in fancier, purple robes. He was short and completely bald, and he carried a book with him, from which he read:

"...soul and body, cast into the abyss of the Torn World," he read. "We call on you, oh Great Ones, release this one from torment. Return to this world what is rightfully its. Return!"

The brown robes around the circle stopped muttering and they all grabbed knives from their pockets. In unison, they all cut their fingers and dripped some blood on the symbol on the floor.

This was followed by blue electrical sparks appearing in the air above the symbol. The brown robes stared in awe, but the man in the purple robe wisely took a few steps backwards. Indeed, the sparks were followed by an opening of a powerful, purple vortex, which spit something out with such strength that the brown robes were knocked backwards.

"Well," said the bald man in the purple robe, "that should do."

Ignoring his companions laying around the room, the man in the purple robe walked over to the center of the symbol to see what had come out of the portal – a human man. It was an old man, albeit one in great physical shape for his age, which had to be over 70. The white-haired man had his upper body completely bare and full of scars, lashes and burn marks as he slowly got up from the floor, disoriented and trembling.

"Welcome back!" the man in the purple robe told the old man. "I know this might be a bit confusing to you, but I feel congratulations are in order. Not many could survive the horrors of the Distortion World with their mind and body intact."

The purple-robed man applauded a bit, not bothering to help the old man back on his feet.

"Oh, please let me introduce myself," he said. "You may call me the Grand Master. This temple has been claimed by the Circle of the Torn World. In exchange for bringing you back to our nice, safe human world, we just want you to do a _teeny_ -tiny favor, but I'm sure you'll agree. Won't you, Mr. Pryce?"

The former Johto gym leader, once cast into the Distortion World for betraying Giratina, lifted his head to glare at the 'Grand Master'.


	3. Back to School

**Chapter Three: _Back to School_**

 _ **Location: Ranger School, Almia**_

It was early morning, and principal Lamont of Almia's Ranger School was beginning his work day. An elderly man with gray but thick hair wearing thick glasses and a dignified brown tweed suit, Lamont was finishing up some paperwork, then buzzed in this morning's visitors.

The visitors were Kris, Iris and Barry, with Lunick having called ahead about Kris and Iris' desire to attend the school for a while. Lamont gestured at the three to sit down, offering them all tea as Kris and Iris explained their points.

"Absolute, absolutely, you're more than welcome to attend!" Lamont said heartily afterward.

This surprised Kris – she believed it would have been much harder, that she would have to lie about how much she wanted to learn about the Ranger Union's culture and history and be useful to the community and blah blah blah.

"I take it you wish to enter the Ranger Tournament?" Lamont asked the two.

"Actually, I really wish to get to know your culture," Iris said excitedly. "Well, I want to learn everything about you really, including about your history, your habits, your politics… I feel I can more useful to my own community once I study others."

 _Well, she ain't lying_.

"Yeah, what she said," Kris told the principal with a fake smile. "Only, I am actually also interested in possibly entering the tournament…"

"Absolutely!" Lamont said cheerfully. "Signing begins next week, and everyone who passes the prepping course gets to enter."

"Also, I believe there was some discussion about accommodations…?" Kris asked subtly. "Um, or so I was led to believe."

Lamont leaned back on his chair and scratched his chin. "Yes, well, our priority is to house Rangers from other parts of the Union who don't have residence in Almia, but I think we can arrange something, assuming you don't mind being roommates. Besides, any friends of Dawn and Lucas are friends of mine."

"Actually," Barry piped in, "they're really my friends, and these two are only connected to them through me. I'm Barry, hi!"

"Is that so," Lamont smiled. "Yes, Barry, I've heard them mention you a few times."

Barry grinned obnoxiously.

"Not always in a flattering way," Lamont admitted, "but mentioned nonetheless. I think we can arrange you a spot in helping them out in their teaching. You do some work for us, and in exchange, food and housing can be arranged for you."

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and without waiting for a reply, Lunick stepped in.

"Ah, welcome back, Lunick, Ms. April showed you where you'll be working, yes?" Lamont asked him.

"Yes, thank you, principal," Lunick told him respectfully. "And thank you for agreeing to take these three in."

"No problem, we have plenty of exchange students and visitors from other regions in here right now," Lamont said politely. "Now, Kris and Iris, we should-"

"Actually, Kris, there's something I want to show you," Lunick said quickly. "It's about your lodging, actually."

"My what?" Kris asked. "Oh, you mean where I'll be sleeping and stuff?"

"Yes, that's what I said," Lunick said. "Um, principal, sir, if you don't mind…?"

"No, no, it's fine," Lamont assured. "I'll tell Ms. Iris here about our policies and she can deliver Kris her schedules and school uniforms."

Kris cringed a bit when she heard the bit about the uniforms. Obviously there would be them, considering how uniform-happy the Rangers were, but by the time she had left trainer's school, she had assumed she'd never have to wear one again. But she was willing to pay the price if it meant getting to enter the tournament.

 _And then they'll all see_!

Kris left the principal's office with Lunick, who seemed to have an unusual amount of spring in his step, towards the stairs to explore the Ranger School. It was a three-story tall, old but modernly decorated building with large, green grounds and a great view of the beach. Built by the seaside, the Ranger School was where everyone wishing to be an official Ranger, Operator or Mechanic in accordance with the rules of the Union, studied. Just like in Johto and other regions Kris had been, there were basic schools were people studied until they were 16-17. Then, they could opt for higher education, the Ranger School being the most popular choice.

In the first floor, there were a bunch of classrooms, lecture halls and some faculty rooms. Kris saw plenty of students, all wearing the school's standard uniform, which sort of resembled the regular Ranger uniform, only with a green blazer, blue shirt and shorts and a short necktie, As Kris and Lunick walked through the corridors, Lunick pointed out staff members to her.

"That's Ms. April that the principal mentioned, she's extremely nice," he said, pointing at a female teacher who smiled at Lunick. "Oh, and that's science teacher Mr. Kincaid, great man. Morning, Mr. Kincaid!"

"No running on hallways!" the middle-aged, blonde-haired teacher responded.

Lunick laughed. "Fantastic teacher. Ooh, there's the caretaker, Janice, she oversees both the kitchen _and_ the grounds, extremely nice, but _don't_ many any comments about her Bidoof. It'll destroy you, I guarantee."

"You seemed to know the principal well," Kris commented.

"Oh, yes, everyone knows Lamont Splendidocious-"

"Is _that_ his last name?!"

"-but I suppose I have a closer relationship with him than some other students," Lunick mused. "He's the one that helped me out after I, um, arrived into this time."

Kris nodded thoughtfully as she and Lunick walked up the stairs. To steer the discussion in another direction, she asked: "So where are you taking me?"

"You'll see soon," Lunick promised.

The curiosity starting to annoy her, Kris and Lunick entered the second floor, filled mostly with dormitories, but also containing the kitchens and the large dining hall fitting at least three hundred people. It wasn't overly crowded now as people were finishing their breakfasts, most of the students headed to class, but Lunick pointed out a girl sitting alone, fiddling with her PokéGear.

"So?" Kris asked Lunick. "You made me walk all those stairs just to… to..."

Kris frowned as she stared at the girl, who was obliviously finishing her drink, not noticing or caring she was spilling some on her shorts. The girl was about the same age and height as Kris, with brown eyes and similar pigtailed hair, only brown instead of black and less messy.

"Lyra?!" Kris said out loud. "How did-"

"I just saw her there while talking to Ms. April," Lunick said with a smile. "I figured you'd want to talk to her. She has no idea you're here yet."

Kris bit her lip. Sure, she _wanted_ to talk to Lyra. The two had been friends and neighbors since childhood, with Lyra being one of only two people from New Bark Town Kris actually liked (professor Elm being the other). That was, until the two seemed to grow apart two years ago, and it wasn't until very recently that the two sort of reinstated their friendship.

 _Sort of_ , Kris thought. Which was why she had second thoughts about walking over to her.

"Well?" Lunick asked her. "Wait, I didn't remember it wrong, did I? I remember her from Hoenn, I thought you knew her."

"Yes, I do," Kris sighed, "and you got it right, I just… yeah, thanks."

What Kris felt wasn't something she could put into words, especially to Lunick, who didn't know about their history, so Kris just waved at him and walked towards Lyra's table. Every step Kris took was deliberate and slow, delaying the inevitable awkwardness.

Finally, when she couldn't move any closer, practically standing inches away from Lyra, who still didn't notice anything, Kris cleared her throat.

"Excuse me," she said lamely, gesturing at the seat opposite to Lyra, "is this seat taken?"

 _Wow, that's the cleverest thing I could think of?_

Lyra almost choked on her drink and dropped her PokéGear in surprise.

"KRIS!" she screamed, causing many around them to stare, which made Kris even more uncomfortable.

Lyra tried to stand up to hug Kris, only to get her leg entangled to her bag that was sitting on the floor. Almost losing her balance, Lyra blushed and awkwardly sat down again with no hug, gesturing Kris to take a seat as well.

"Why are you here?!" Lyra babbled, her tone almost sounding accusing. "I mean, I know Dawn and Lucas are teaching here, but I thought you and Iris went somewhere, _oh my goodness_ , this is so exciting, I can't wait to-"

Lyra stopped to turn up her nose. "Ugh, Kris, you have kind of an odor to you."

"Well I _did_ just sit in a train all night," Kris sighed impatiently. "Didn't get much sleep and there weren't exactly showers there. I came here straight from Fiore."

"You went to Fiore?!" Lyra continued. "Well, this is great! Now I don't have to go to some backwater region, you can tell me how it was!"

Kris had long since learned to just go with Lyra's bluntness.

"But what are you doing here?!" Lyra wondered.

"Same could be said to you," Kris said quietly. "After we last met, you said you'd go to Unova."

"Oh, that," Lyra said, pouting at what seemed to be an unpleasant memory. "Well, my plan to pay my way to Unova with work and battling didn't quite pan out. Turns out it's _really_ far away! So I tried to at least hitchhike as far as I could, and this trucker was kind enough to pull over for me. We talked about _so_ many things! Well, I did, mostly, but she was a good listener! But then, when we made a stop at a gas station and I used the bathroom, she just left without saying a word." Lyra stopped to ponder. "You don't think it was because of me, was it?"

"No, no, how could it?" Kris said delicately. "Maybe she was busy with her, uh, trucking… stuff."

Lyra's face lit up again. "I think you're right!" she said with a smile. "Anyway, the gas station was near Almia, and I went and chatted up the people here, asking everyone, 'Why do you have such a weird culture here?'".

"You didn't use those words, did you?"

"I did, why?"

"No reason," Kris said quickly. "Continue."

"Well, they told me that there's a school that allows people to learn more about the way you're supposed to live here, and now, here I am!" Lyra announced cheerfully. "I mean, I already knew a lot of stuff, I did my homework. Like, ofcourse I knew you're not allowed to catch Pokémon here, what idiot would try to do that?"

"Yeah," Kris said tensely. "Uh, anyway, what are you studying?"

"Oh, all kinds of stuff!" Lyra beamed and quickly grabbed her bag to show Kris which books she was carrying. "'Science of Nature Conservation', 'Ranger History', 'Mechanics of the Capture Styler', 'Singing to Trees 101'..."

"Ah," Kris said with a relieved sigh. "I thought you wanted to take the preparation course for the Ranger Tournament."

"Oh, yeah, I'm totally taking that, too!" Lyra said, nodding furiously, then she suddenly grabbed Kris' hand. "Oh my gosh, Kris, are you coming there too?! This is _awesome_!"

"Yeah," Kris said flatly. "Awesome..."

Mentally, Kris cursed her decision already. She never assumed she'd win the tournament with her Ranger experience. The whole plan was to show annoying people like Solana that even a noob like her could at least do well in their contests. But if Lyra was participating…

 _Crap_!

Lunick walked over to Kris and Lyra. Being on an irritable mood, Kris didn't bother making much introductions, especially since Lunick seemed to know her already.

"Lyra, you remember Lunick, right?" she asked Lyra in a bored tone.

"Pleasure to meet you again," Lunick said and bowed at Lyra, who just waved cheerfully. "I need to tell you both something, actually."

Kris and Lyra looked up at Lunick.

"I talked to Ms. April, and got her to agree," Lunick explained eagerly. "You and Iris will get to be in a three-person room!"

"Oh, great, I guess," Kris said apathetically. "Who's gonna be our roommate? Oh, and _please_ don't say it's Dawn, I like her and all, but we're not _that_ close, so-"

"What?" Lunick interrupted. "No, Lyra."

Kris' eyes went wide with horror while Lyra smiled enthusiastically. "Oh, this is great!" Lyra cheered. "I haven't had a roommate in a week! They all seem to insist on transferring. I mean, yeah, having the room by myself is _great_ but it gets lonely there. Oh, and Kris, is Iris here, I wanna meet her right away! Oh this is gonna be so _awesome_!"

For the second time in two days, Kris' face met the table.

 **~o~O~o~**

And so began what Kris could sum up as the most exhausting period of her life until now. Although she only had to live with it for three weeks, the Ranger tournament felt so far away compared to the sheer amount of time Kris would have to spend eating a dining hall full of people talking way too loud, sit at boring lectures and, of course, spend over 12 hours of a day in the same room with Lyra. Iris' cheerfulness was bad enough – with Lyra, she had to stand way too many painful memories popping up. In fact, during the first night in the same dorm room, Kris avoided conversation by taking her time in the bathroom, just standing there and staring at the mirror while Iris and Lyra chatted in the room, Lyra carefully combing Iris' massive hair. Iris didn't seem to have any problems getting reacquainted with Lyra, nor did she seem to pick up any tension between her and Kris.

One thing driving her crazy was communal living.

One night, as the trio was preparing to go to bed, Kris decided to grab a snack from the fridge. However, the boxed lunch she had bought from the cafeteria but didn't have time to eat during the day was gone. Kris glared at Lyra, who lounged on her bed, giggling at something she was looking from her PokéGear while licking her fingers.

 _That bi-_

"Lyra~," Kris said as sweetly as she could. "You haven't seen the lunch I put in this fridge earlier?"

"You mean that one?" Lyra asked, pointing at the nearly identical box sitting in the fridge.

"No," Kris said patiently, "This one has a different sauce than the one I ordered."

"Oh... oh, right, sorry about that," Lyra said nonchalantly. "Must have eaten yours by mistake. 'Sokay, you can have mine."

Kris tried to suppress the urge to flip a table. "Well, that's really not the point," she said shakily.

"Well, I guess we should start labeling stuff," Lyra remarked. "To stop other incidents like this. You know, like when you drank the soda I had left there yesterday."

Before Kris could snark back, Iris burst out of the bathroom.

"I don't mean to be rude," she announced, being careful with her wording, "but did someone use my coconut oil?"

"Uh, that conditioner thing?" Kris asked awkwardly. "Yeah, I did... I mean, I can buy you more if that's-"

"It's just that," Iris said, awkward at just having to think about raising her voice, "you know, I think that stuff is pretty hard to find in Almia, and well, obviously my hair is a lot different than yours or Lyra's. "

"What?" Lyra asked obliviously, but finally got it. " _Oh_! Right, well, yeah."

"Yeah," Iris said awkwardly. "Well, just for further notice."

Iris closed the bathroom door again while Kris sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Lyra, we're gonna have to establish some ground rules," she said. "I mean, we have to, if we're gonna be sleeping together like before."

Lyra blushed madly. "W-what?!" she flustered. "We never - I mean, I don't think we-"

"What?!" Kris snapped at her impatiently. "Sleeping in the same room! When we were kids, remember, when I was always staying at your house?"

Lyra smiled awkwardly. "Right, of course, that's what I thought you meant... eheh...I should go to sleep!"

Even outside of the dorm room, Kris ran into trouble. Lessons weren't exactly easy for her, nor was the downtime between them. One day, Kris accompanied Iris to her 'Environmentally Friendly Living 105' class, even though Kris didn't have to take it.

"Thanks for coming to audit," Iris told Kris as the two took their seats, Iris excitedly grabbing her textbook and notes. "I'm sure this will help you. It's actually quite interesting."

"Yeah, uh, I love the environment and... stuff," Kris muttered. "But really, I _also_ wanted to get away from Lyra. She had free time and wanted to 'hang' or something, so I told her I was having this class."

Iris frowned at her. "That was kinda mean."

"Hey, I happen to be very interested in this subject," Kris said just as the teacher, Mr. Kaplan, arrived into the lecture hall. "Okay, now shush, it's starting!"

"Good morning, students," the teacher announced. "Hopefully you've all read the chapters I assigned to you last time. Today we'll be talking about the effects of climate change on the northern areas of the region..."

Within seconds, Kris' head had already plopped on Iris' shoulder as Kris fell asleep. Iris didn't want to wake her up - even when Kris was drooling on her.

Still, Kris couldn't dodge her responsibilities much when it came to the actual classes. There was a list of classes, both practical and theoretical, that Kris had to attend to pass the preparatory course. The theoretical stuff was just boring, and Kris hoped to scrape a passable grade by just consulting Iris for help whenever she didn't feel like writing too much or paying attention.

The practical classes were a bit more of an issue, especially because they involved, well, doing stuff. In front of __people__!

This became painfully apparent in Mr. Kincaid's Capture Styler class, when the student Rangers were out on the yard, practicing basic controls of the Capture Disc. The objective was simple: launch the Capture Disc at a Pokémon and keep the Disc steady while making it do three loops around the Pokémon before returning. Yet, a surprising amount of students failed it entirely.

Lyra was not among them. Wielding her green, school-supplied Styler, she aimed it at Scorch, her mild-mannered Typhlosion and calmly fired. The Typhlosion just remarked with calm curiosity as the disc made three perfectly round loops around the fire-type Pokémon, leaving a blue trail of energy behind. At the end of the last loop, the energy trail glowed and then dissipated while the disc returned to Lyra.

"Well done!" Mr. Kincaid praised her as he walked by, observing the students. "A calm head and confidence is all it takes! Out in the field, it will make all the difference between a failed and a successful capture."

Lyra glowed under the praise. As Kincaid kept walking on and making notes, he stopped next to Kris, who didn't do _quite_ as well as Lyra.

For one thing, Kris was nervous to fire the thing in the first place, worried that Croc, her target, would swat the disc down or eat it, and then she'd have to pay for the damages. But when Kris noticed Kincaid approaching, she fired, but her hand shook so much that the Capture Disc shot off in the wrong angle, flying in a wobbly line for a few yards before pathetically falling on the ground. Feeling like her face was on fire from the embarrassment, Kris quickly picked the disc up to try again. However, Kincaid just smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Kris," he said kindly. "Once you manage to keep your arm steady, controlling the Disc is extremely easy. Just work on your confidence and you'll be fine."

Kris sighed. "Thanks, I'll do that."

Kincaid nodded. "Good. In a movie, this is where I'd put a hand on your shoulder in a fatherly way, but we have a strong policy against touching students. It's the second most important rule in our school, right after-"

"No running on hallways?" Kris asked him.

Kincaid nodded and left to inspect the other students. Sure enough, the guy was nice... but there was an weird odor of extra-hold hairspray floating around him, which wasn't a surprise, given his puffy hairdo. And while what he said had made Kris feel better, it only lasted for roughly fifteen seconds before Kris saw Lyra controlling her Capture Disc like it was an extension of her body.

Either way, during the first few days, Kris didn't catch any sight of Dawn or Lucas, despite them supposedly teaching classes there. Barry had also vanished somewhere. Growing too curious, Kris finally managed to get info from Ms. April about where the two taught - apparently they were teaching aspiring Rangers some basic Pokémon battle skills and applying them to Poké Assists, and they were doing it in a classroom in a separate building on the grounds.

With free time to spare, Kris decided to pay them a visit. The students of their class were apparently doing some group projects, so were most of them were out of the classroom doing field work. The door was open and the mood was fairly quiet as Kris entered. She was fully expecting Dawn Berlitz, the indigo-haired, 17-year old daughter of the wealthiest family in Sinnoh, to be wearing some expensive clothes while talking Lucas' ear off, with the black-haired, beret-wearing, also 17-year old Lucas nodding and staring, probably with a piece of food forgotten in his mouth. Still, Kris had fought Team Galactic side by side with them (and Barry, when he was around), and they were nice enough... in their own way.

But Kris was surprised at what she saw. Dawn and Lucas were there, sure, but they each had their separate desk on opposite sides of the classroom, and they didn't exchange a word with each other – there was nothing but silence.

"Uh… hi," Kris said to announce her presence.

Lucas, at the other side of the classroom, briefly raised his head and smiled nervously at Kris before going to work. Closer to the door, Dawn actually stood up.

"Hello, Kris," she said tensely. "I heard you arrived to study here. Sorry, but my time is a _bit_ more valuable than yours, so we'll talk later, okay."

"Oh… sorry," Kris said, surprised by this kind of response. "I just thought… just wanted to catch up, is all."

"Well, I came to Fiore, came here to work at the Ranger School, and now I'm here," Dawn summarized. "It's only been a month, after all. All right, good seeing you, you may leave."

Dawn sat back down to her station, leaving Kris dumbfounded. Lucas, on the other hand, stood up and cleared his throat.

"I'm going to take a little break," he said, making meaningful eye contact with Kris. "Outside."

Dawn acted like she hadn't heard a thing.

"Right," Kris muttered. "And I'll just… leave."

Hoping to get an explanation to this, Kris left the building, with Lucas subtly following suit, constantly turning around like he was expecting Dawn to be still watching.

Once they were out of hearing range, Kris folded her arms. "Okay, what's going on here?" she asked.

"Yeah, there's been a bit of a thing," Lucas said awkwardly and rubbed his neck. "Dawn and I are, um, not getting along so well anymore. Which is even more awkward considering we have to act as instructors to the same class..."

Lucas put on a cheerful face as always, but Kris could hear how resigned he sounded.

"Why, though?" Kris wondered. "Haven't you told her about your little crush on her yet?"

Lucas looked around him wildly when Kris said that, like he was expecting a spy drone to be hovering around them.

"How did you know about that?!" he hissed.

"Well, it took some detective skills, with how subtle you were," Kris deadpanned. "Plus, Barry told me."

"I did try to play it cool," Lucas said obliviously. "But yeah, I figured it was Barry. Speaking of… you probably figured a lot more happened this past four weeks than what Dawn told you there."

"Yeah, somehow I did."

"Well, at first, all three of us got along great," Lucas explained. "But as soon as we got to Fiore, there were disagreements and Dawn and Barry were at each others throats again. I just don't know why they can't get along, but that's when Dawn suggested we split up for a while, so he stayed there and we came here to look for work. Turns out there are call for experienced trainers in here."

Kris decided not to ask when Lucas started considering himself 'experienced', having no gym badges to speak of.

"Well, when we started working here things were going fine," Lucas continued, "but then I heard that Dawn had been spreading rumors about me here in school, how I was some kind of hick back in Twinleaf Town and how I didn't even know how to read properly and stuff before I met her. I asked her if she had really said that, and she got all explosive and defensive! And then there was arguing and now… this."

Kris nodded, though she had no idea what to say. This was partly why Kris avoided these kind of things. _Way_ too much to drama to deal with.

 _And it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I can't find anyone, I SO could if I wanted to._

"I really appreciate you listening, Kris," Lucas said, shaking Kris out of her thoughts – she hadn't really been paying attention. "But please, don't waste your energy in trying to figure this out, really, it's our own problem and we'll-"

"Yeah, _really_ wasn't going to," Kris interrupted harshly. "Why would I?"

"Well… isn't that what you do? Solve problems, fight bad guys, go around the world righting wrongs for great justice? Um, Barry's words, not mine."

 _Huh_ , Kris thought. _That does sound cooler than the truth._

"Oh, yeah, sure," Kris said, trying to sound convincing. "But, um, I solve _real_ problems. This melodrama between you and Dawn, on the other hand..."

Kris patted Lucas on the shoulder.

"…that's for you to deal with, champ."

And so Kris left. Sure, she didn't feel good about it, but dealing with a real life soap opera plot wasn't something she had time for now.

 **~o~O~o~**

As days passed, Kris' skills with the Capture Styler grew, as did her knowledge about Rangering, assuming that was a word. Or so Iris told her at every turn, but it never satisfied Kris. Every time Kris learned something new or mastered some area, Lyra had already done three time as much. And even with the massive workload of her many classes, Lyra never seemed to tire out, while Kris was barely keeping awake and was still lagging behind on her assignments.

Lunick, between his work taking care of the Pokémon at the school and handling its security, did his best to tutor Kris, however, and Kris often spent extended amounts of time training with him after classes. Kris had to admit that after over 17 years of being a punching bag, it felt good that someone kept constantly praising her. Sure, Iris was always supportive of her, but she was nice to _everyone_ , and she had a pesky tendency of always being right. With Lunick, on the other hand, Kris felt like he would support her even if she did something monumentally stupid.

Outside of mornings, meals and evenings before going to bed, Kris didn't really spend that much time with Iris, anyway, the two being focused on their respective goals. While Kris trained for the tournament, Iris sucked in all the knowledge she could about the Pokémon Rangers, while also spending a lot of her free time in the school's library reading about Jirachi. So far, despite Iris' attempts to cross-reference Jirachi with ancient prophecies, she hadn't found anything similar to what Leaf was talking about – or much anything at all.

With one week left for the tournament, Lyra was also taking a break from training to assist Iris with the research. Though Iris appreciated the help, she didn't really enjoy listening Lyra to rant about the same topic over and over:

"...and then again this morning, Kris left the cafeteria the _second_ I sat to her table!" she said. "I wish she'd just tell me what I did to her that got her so mad!"

"You do get to see her in class, don't you?" Iris asked absentmindedly while trying to focus on her book, frantically searching for the words 'Jirachi', 'Wish' or 'prophecy'.

"Well, yeah, but seeing her is where it ends!" Lyra complained, barely even reading the book she was holding. "Plus, she was absent today! She has to be careful, if she fails this course, she won't get to enter the tournament!"

"What was she doing?"

Lyra snorted. "Training with _Lunick_ ," she said in disgust. "I mean, what does she see in him, really?"

"Huh?" Iris exclaimed. "He's helping her train."

"Oh, _come on_!" Lyra hissed. "He's planning something with her, he's messing with her mind. I mean, Kris told me he used to be in Team Aqua!"

"Well, he hadn't been in this time period long," Iris said patiently. "Their ideology and eco-terrorism stuff appealed to him. And he helped us bring them down, don't you remember?"

"I was unconscious most of the Hoenn incident," Lyra grumbled. "I almost drowned! And then I missed all the other fun adventures, too!"

"They weren't always that fun," Iris assured. "But yeah, Team Aqua also almost drowned Kris too, but she got washed up in the undersea cave where Team Aqua was hiding. That's where Lunick defected and helped her escape. And he's been fighting gangs like that ever since."

"Well, so he claims," Lyra muttered. "I mean, this whole time-traveler thing sounds _pretty_ shady. Has Kris ever asked him about his birth certificate?"

Iris rolled her eyes. When she and Lyra went back to research, a boy approached them shyly.

"Um, Iris," he said quietly. "Sorry to interrupt, but could you maybe help me with this assignment...? I have no idea what to write here.."

"Sure!" Iris said excitedly and grabbed the paper from the boy. After just a few seconds, Iris spotted the problem: "Ah, I see! It's a trick question. It's asking about stuff damaging your Capture Styler, but those things are actually hermetically sealed, and with built-in resistance to radio interference and even EMP pulses."

Lyra raised her eyebrows, impressed with what she heard. Before she could compliment Iris, another student, a girl, approached them.

"Hey, Iris, thank goodness you're here!" she said. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but can you spell-check this essay? Just a quick glance, and it's not that long..."

"Sure, just leave it there, I'll return it to you soon."

"Wow," Lyra said as the girl left. "Did you start tutoring too?"

"No, I just spend so much time here that they've been starting to ask me for help with their schoolwork," Iris said. "And, not to brag, but I've read more books than some second-years, so-"

"Sorry, Iris," another student interrupted. "Can you tell me about this Pokémon? The book says it's Unovan, but I can't remember them all."

"Oh, of course, that's a Sigilyph," Iris said as she saw the picture of a colorful, spherical flying-type Pokémon with three eyes. "Let's see, habitat, well, they live in, uh… uh..."

"They inhabit mainly deserts, but often make their nests in ruins and abandoned buildings," a deep-voiced man said. "They're psychic-types, so they're sometimes to blame for mirages and the like."

"Thanks, mister," the student said.

Iris looked up at the man, gasping a bit. It was someone from Iris' past, a tall, aging man with white hair and a thick, bushy white beard that covered most of his face.

"Gramps!" Iris said and rushed to hug Drayden. "It's been so long. Lyra, this is Drayden, mayor and gym leader of Opelucid City. You can kind of say he's one of my mentors."

Lyra just nodded at Drayden. "Gramps?" she asked Iris.

"Oh, well, not my _actual_ grandfather, of course," Iris giggled. "It's just what I tend to call him. Um, Lyra, do you mind if…?"

"No, I don't mind," Lyra said and went back to reading her book. "You two talk about whatever."

Iris sighed and led Drayden away from the noisy group of students and to a quieter part of the library.

"Sorry to barge in unannounced," Drayden told Iris. "I'm actually here on diplomatic business. Alder sent me on Unova's behalf to meet with Chairperson Erma."

"Nothing serious, is it?" Iris asked him.

"No, just a routine visit. I've met her before, you see. But I didn't come here to talk about that. I came here to ask you to come with me."

Iris frowned. "W… what?"

"The gym," Drayden said. "You agreed to take over as Opelucid's Gym Lader after your trip. And it's about time I retired from that post. We need some fresh blood there, everyone's already seen what the old man can do."

Iris couldn't believe how she could have forgotten. Yes, she did indeed promise, but it was something she expected to have to do in the distant future. _After_ she was done learning all there was to learn and seeing all there was to see.

"I understand your thirst for knowledge and experience, I really do," Drayden said. "And I don't like doing this, but I really have to hold you to your promise."

Iris groaned in frustration. "Drayden, please, just give me a week!" she pleaded. "I have friends who are preparing for an upcoming tournament and I don't want to drop this on them now."

Drayden nodded. "That is acceptable," he said. "I'll come pick you up in one week. Do take your time to say your goodbyes."

As Drayden left, Iris finally took it all in. She made a promise, and taking over the gym was something she had wanted for years. But Drayden used the word 'goodbyes'. Meaning, she wouldn't be traveling with Kris anymore…

 **~o~O~o~**

Later that day, at lunch, things were quiet and tense. Kris, Iris, Lyra and Lunick ate at the same table as Lucas and Barry, who had insisted on inviting themselves in. Lucas and Barry mostly just talked to each other quietly as the others ate, though.

Kris in particular seemed to be eating in a hurry, practically inhaling her food in and finishing her lunch before everyone else. As she got up and grabbed her tray, Lyra stared at her.

"Where are you going?" Lyra asked. "We still have twenty minutes before the class starts."

"Yeah, uh, I need to train, gonna have to skip this one," Kris said quickly. "Lunick, you coming?"

"But..." Lunick said quietly. "I've barely touched my-"

But seeing Kris' expression made Lunick dutifully pick up his tray, nod politely at the others and leave with Kris. Looking hurt at Kris' action, Lyra suddenly finished her lunch and left the table as well, prompting a concerned Iris to follow.

"What was that about?" Lucas asked Barry after the girls had left.

Barry shrugged. "Some chick issues, probably," he said thoughtlessly.

"I guess so… hey, Barry, we still going to that pottery class tonight?"

"Just try and stop me!"

Iris caught up with Lyra at the dining hall's exit, peering over the crowds of students, and Iris had a good idea what she was looking for. Kris and Lunick had already made it far away, however.

"Lyra, is everything all right?" Iris asked her.

"No!" Lyra snapped. "I'm just… worried, that's all. I mean, I don't want to see that guy use her or something. I'm just looking out for Kris' best interests, okay?!"

But looking at Lyra's frantic expression and flushed face made Iris finally realize something – which, in retrospect, made so much sense. But it wasn't exactly something she could ask bluntly.

Then again, it was Lyra, so that wasn't really an issue.

"Lyra," Iris said gently, taking Lyra by the hand. "I'm sorry if this is too personal, but… are you in love with Kris?"

Lyra stared at Kris, her frantic expression quickly turning horrified. For a few seconds, she just stared at Iris. Then, all of the sudden, she let out a loud, forced, _very_ high-pitched laughter.

"Me? In _love_?!" she laughed. "With Kris?! My childhood friend, Kris? As if! Nice one, Iris, really. I mean, come on, what, you think I don't have plenty of others in my sight already? I mean, I got to talk with that Dawn girl the other day, that might develop into something… maybe… and hey, like I care about relationships at the moment! I'm studying, and training for the tournament! Hah, in love, that's… that's..."

Lyra stopped her rambling to turn back at the crowd, standing on her toes to see over their heads, trying to catch a glimpse of Kris. Realizing what she was doing, she turned back to stare at Iris.

"Iris," she said quietly.

"Yes?" Iris asked gently.

"I… I think you're right."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading so far, next chapter coming up soon! As a side note, FFN is acting up, every time I change the cover picture, it soon changes back to my profile pic. It's infuriating, but I hope it doesn't hurt your enjoyment. Peace out!**_


	4. Bounty Hunter

"My name is Wes. It's important that you listen to my story, before it's too late. I..."

Wes, a 20-year old Orrean with tan skin, dark blonde hair, brown eyes and a long, blue coat, stopped the tape recorder he was holding. He glanced at his two Pokémon, an Espeon and an Umbreon, who looked at him with puzzled expressions.

"Should I use 'imperative' instead?" Wes asked them. "Or is that too, y'know, pretentious? What do you reckon?"

 **Chapter Four: _Bounty Hunter_**

 _ **Location: An abandoned warehouse, Vientown, Almia**_

Umbreon yawned and curled up to sleep. Espeon started cleaning itself. Wes smiled at them fondly. Even if they couldn't respond back to him, Wes felt there was a connection. They had been his first Pokémon, which he got from his mother when they were both just Eevee. They were siblings, and while Wes initially wanted just one, he couldn't bare separate the two. Now, years later, the two had grown vastly different personalities. Espeon was more affectionate, but Umbreon was more eager to fight when it came to dangerous situations.

Shrugging, Wes turned his recorder on again and continued narrating a story he assumed the world was just _dying_ to know:

"I am a Pokémon Bounty Hunter. A lot of people don't know what that means. Even _I_ don't know what that means, to be honest. But it sure does sound cool!"

"Why do I call myself that? It all goes back to my adolescence in Orre, a land full of deserts, outlaws, deserts, corruption and… did I mention the deserts? About four years ago, I fell in with the 'wrong crowd', to to speak. It's like any other story you've ever heard, I'm sure… only most people's 'wrong crowd' isn't a multimillion poké-dollar Pokémon kidnapping scheme. Without my knowledge, I was part of a vast criminal empire ran by Cipher and Team Snagem, but with the power of love and my personal conviction, I broke away from those miscreants."

"Thus, I became a freelance adventurer, taking on some jobs. In Orre, there was call for actual Pokémon bounty hunting, going after stolen, lost or escaped Pokémon. But soon I was needed for my ability to exact violence on people. I worked for authorities and criminals alike, just to scrape enough money to get by. But now, I am warrior for good, a wandering traveler… only that doesn't actually make money, so I accepted another job. In case I don't return, whoever finds this tape, please send it to Professor Elm's laboratory in New Bark Town, and tell him it's for his favorite Pokémon trainer. He'll know."

After finishing his recording and getting his bearings, Wes left the warehouse he had been sleeping in to save money and began to explore the town. He had been in Almia in hopes of finding work, or possibly gullible people who'd give him money for no reason, and was soon offered one by Vientown's Ranger Base. A famous local scientist had disappeared the day before, but the authorities were not ready to announce it yet, wanting to give Wes time to find him and keep the whole thing under wraps. As peaceful as the Ranger Union was, Wes knew this peace was carefully maintained by under-reporting crime. And right now, crime was what Wes needed to find the most.

He would find it by entering a dusty, quiet bar near the edge of the town. As many other places Wes had been, this too was a sleazy dive full of criminals. The only way to know that you were in the Ranger Union was that there was as many Pokémon hanging around as there were people: two Machoke by the counter arm wrestling, a Mr. Mime assisting the bartender and a Furfrou in the corner, drinking water which Wes guessed was probably spiked.

Trying to look like he belonged, Wes confidently sauntered to the counter and nodded at the bartender, a surly, unshaven man straight out of a cliché.

"I'm lookin' for someone," Wes told the bartender.

"Haven't seen anyone," the man told Wes grumpily, looking slightly past him.

Sighing, Wes took a 100 pokédollar bill from his pocket and put it on the counter, expecting to impress the man. But the bartender just kept staring a bit over Wes' shoulder.

"Well?" Wes asked him. "What gives?"

"I told you, I literally haven't seen anyone in the last twenty minutes!" the bartender snapped. "I just tried a new drink mix I've been developing, and now everything's all dark!"

"Oh… sorry," Wes mumbled awkwardly and quietly took his money back.

"Ahh, this happens all the time, I'll get better in a few," the bartender said.

"Well, the guy I'm looking for has been here since you opened, from what I've heard," Wes said patiently. "Kind of a pale guy, bleached hair, long, dusty coat, probably carries around a pair of bongos or something. Answers to the name of Clyde."

"Oh, the drummer of the Go-Rock Quads?" the temporarily blinded bartender laughed. "Why didn't ya say so? Yeah, he's in the upstairs lounge. He's not gonna like you disturbing him, though, he went there with a lady. Bit of an unusual one at that."

Wes frowned. "What do you mean? Like, not from the Ranger Union?"

"Well, that, too," the bartender said. "But more like, I could tell she wasn't one my regulars."

"How do you know?"

"Well, she didn't smell horrible!"

Wes thanked for the info and walked upstairs. He had met Clyde of the Go-Rock Quads before, back when the Go-Rock Squad was doing some business with Orre gangs. The encounter didn't end well… for Wes, that was, as the four siblings beat the crap out of him. But now, if Clyde didn't tell him what he wanted to know, Wes was ready to employ violence against him.

Or so he would tell if anyone asked, but more realistically, Wes would probably just offer him some money. He wasn't really good at fighting that didn't involve sneaking behind someone and pushing them off a cliff. He preferred strategies where you won without anyone knowing you were even there.

Upstairs, though, Wes soon realized that there wasn't any need for either. Clyde was currently being brutalized by a tall, brown-haired girl who held him in a stranglehold.

"Oh, hi, Wes," the girl said casually as she noticed Wes arriving. "I'll be with you in a minute."

"Hilda?!" Wes exclaimed.

"For Arceus' sake, help me!" Clyde wheezed at Wes in Hilda's grip.

"Wrong answer!" Hilda yelled and casually tossed Clyde against the wall.

As Clyde slid down the wall and on the ground like wet paint, the athletic, 20-year old Unovan girl turned to face Wes, taking off her cap to wipe some sweat off her forehead.

"Whew, you know, that guy _really_ doesn't wanna talk!" she said cheerfully. "Nice to see you here, Wesley! I guess you came here to have a word with this thing here?"

Hilda accentuated her words by stomping on Clyde's chest, making sure he couldn't get up – and also confirming that he was still conscious.

"Yeah, he was kind of… my lead," Wes muttered.

Hilda shrugged. "My lead, your lead, what's the difference?" she said breezily. "We're here for the same thing, aren't we? To find professor Hastings!"

Wes didn't appreciate Hilda saying out loud like that – the size of Wes' paycheck depended on how well he could keep the kidnapping a secret from the populace! And that was assuming he could find him in the first place.

"How did you know about that?" Wes asked Hilda. "And more importantly, how did you know who to come to?"

"Uh, honey, I work for the Pokémon League," Hilda scoffed. "It's our job to find out about stuff like this. Actually, I originally came to Unova to, believe it or not, escort some old guy. Drayden, to be specific. But we like to keep informed about the affairs of the Ranger Union, so once I found out they kidnapped that poor geek, I asked where to find some slimeballs connected to crime. And now I'm here!"

Wes felt even more annoyed – he had bribed people all over town to get info on criminal hangouts, only to apparently find out literally everyone in town, even the Pokémon, knew just where to go.

"Well," Wes said, trying to sound unimpressed and attempting to find a flaw, "uh, well, you haven't gotten him to talk yet, have you?"

"Yeah, these mercs are tough nuts to crack," Hilda said. "Their nuts, though? Not all that tough to crack, I noticed."

Wes grimaced. "Ouch," he said, almost feeling sorry for Clyde. "Well, this may sound crazy, but have you tried asking him?"

"Of course!" Hilda protested. "I tried to distract him, pretended to be interested in his music, steered him in the right direction… then, I asked him, he said he didn't know anything… and then I beat him up the next ten minutes. Oh, and then you showed up."

"Let's try a bold change of strategy, huh?" Wes asked and knelt next to Clyde. "Yo, Clyde, you still with me, buddy?"

The drummer turned over, wincing in pain as he did so, to glare at Wes. "Wesley!" he snarled.

"You know each other?" Hilda asked.

Clyde spat on the floor. "Yeah," he growled. "Our number one Orre fan, this Wesley. Always had a thing for me, the cool, roguishly handsome drummer."

"Come on, Clyde, everyone knows Garret is the pretty one," Wes remarked. "Still playing the bongos?"

"Peasant," Clyde scoffed. "Everyone knows steel drums are what's hot at the moment!"

Hilda sighed. "If you two would like some time alone-"

"They were playing in Orre two years ago, when they were still working for the Go-Rock Squad," Wes explained. "I was hired to find out what they were up to. I exposed their schemes, fought them and made my cunning escape."

"You mean when we annihilated you and you ran away crying like a baby?" Clyde taunted.

"Well, that's your version," Wes said casually and grabbed Clyde by his hair, dragging him roughly on his feet, impressing even Hilda. "I'm not the one who has to eat through a straw for the next to weeks."

"Owowow!" Clyde wailed. "Watch the do, man! I'll tell ya, already!"

Wes let go of Clyde and turned to smirk at Hilda smugly. "And _that's_ how you do it!"

"I softened him up for you," Hilda retorted. "He would have talked even sooner if you hadn't interrupted me." Hilda then pushed Clyde's back against the wall. "Now spill it! Before I spill something of yours!"

"Okay, okay," Clyde whined. "I don't know why you're hassling me, I've given up crime! I'm only hear to seek musical inspiration! Well, and some guys here owe me money..."

When Hilda raised her fist, Clyde finally went to the point.

"Right, Hastings!" he cried. "Yeah, I know who's got 'em. Team Dim Sun is who you want!"

"Team Chinese Food?" Wes wondered.

"Almia's resident nutjob group," Hilda confirmed. "They're usually more low-profile than this. If they've kidnapped an important scientist... okay, Clyde, just answer this one correctly and I'll leave you alone: who can we talk about Dim Sun?"

"Oh, that's easy," Clyde babbled nervously. "There's this kid called Isaac, studies at the Ranger School. He's some kinda intern for Altru these days, so best start asking there. I hear he's their inside man. Or, y'know, that's the word on the streets-"

"Shut up!" Hilda snapped and shoved Clyde against the wall again. "Well, Wes, I'm heading out to rescue this scientist. I mean, I might as well now that I'm here. Wanna tag along?"

"Heck yeah!" Wes said as he and Hilda turned to leave Clyde on the floor. "I was really looking forward to workin' with you again!"

"Well, I wasn't," Hilda replied cheerfully. "But it's not like anyone else is volunteering, and it's a boring trip to make alone with no humans to talk to."

Clyde clearly wasn't pleased with Wes and Hilda ignoring him. "My siblings will make you pay!" he yelled after the two. "Just you wait!"

Wes, of course, ignored him, wrapped up in his own masterful plan. Sure, he respected (and slightly feared) Hilda, but as a handsome roguish wanderer, it was his right, no, _duty_ , to try and one-up her, as she worked for the Pokémon League and all.

 _After all_ , Wes thought, _I've always been a renegade_.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Four years ago...**_

 _ **Location: Wes' room, Pokémon HQ Laboratory, Orre**_

"Who's a pretty Eevee?!" 16-year old Wes squeed as he brushed the fur of his Eevee as his Espeon, who had evolved from his other Eevee just a few days ago, chased a ball around the room. "I have an _adorable_ ribbon for you! Oh, why can't they have Pokémon Contests here in Orre?!"

Wes' flamboyant monologue was interrupted by the automated doors of his room opening as a 17-year old girl with red hair on pigtails stormed in.

"Hey, Rui, knock first!" Wes told his girlfriend casually without even looking up from his Eevee. "I could have been naked here."

"Why do you think I didn't knock?" Rui retorted slyly, making Wes blush – she always found a way to one-up him. "Seriously, though, remember what we talked about before? Those lucrative opportunities?"

"Yeah, about that," Wes said and gently put his groomed Eevee on the floor. "Listen, it sounds real, uh, profitable and all, but we've been chasing those leads for months now. We ain't gonna find any."

"No, Wes, _you_ ain't gonna find any," Rui taunted and showed Wes a slip of paper. "Guess who I met at Gateon Port? Remember that really rich guy?"

"Um..."

"That _really_ , really rich guy?"

"Oh," Wes said immediately. "Mr. Verich? He's back?"

"With a job that he offered directly to me, and by extension, to you as well!" Rui said proudly. "That's the place where we'll meet him after the job is done. And all we have to do is nab _one_ Pokémon."

"... _that's_ what you're excited about?" Wes said skeptically. "One Pokémon? Great, why won't we throw a party! Maybe we can share a small pizza with all that money we're gonna make!"

"Wes, for once, don't be an idiot here," Rui said, a serious look on her face. "This is a rare Poké Ball -pattern Vivillon we're talking about. It's a special breed, never seen outside of Kalos. Some smuggler got a hold of it but lost his cargo to other similar schmuck heads in Pyrite Town. All we gotta do is sneak in and grab the crate with that Vivillon and get outta there! I bet those thieves don't even know how valuable that thing is – and how much money Mr. Verich is gonna pay for it!"

"Well, how much?" Wes asked.

"Let's just say this," Rui smirked, "when I first met you, I wouldn't have thought you could count that far."

Wes whistled, ignoring the insult. "I could do with that," he said quietly. "What's the catch?"

"Ah, there, ya see, I don't fall for the dumb ones," Rui said sweetly and nudged Wes on the shoulder playfully. "Of course there's a teeny bit of a catch. Verich still doesn't trust me, so he insisted to bring not only Nascour and Miror B. into this-"

Wes groaned. Sure, the two of them introduced Wes and Rui to each other and this line of "work", but Wes wasn't interested in splitting the profits 15-85 in their favor anymore.

"-but he also wanted to bring in their friend, too," Rui finished.

Wes went from annoyed to nervous. "Oh, don't tell me. Not _her_. Not Venus!"

"Yeah, but who needs 'em?!" Rui said. "Every time those idiots made us do their dirty work, they played in our favor. They're gonna hang back and avoid field work once again, meaning _we_ can grab Vivillon and bring it to Verich ourselves – then keep the profit! I can sense the thing easily, and together, we can grab it before anyone notices!"

"So you're saying," Wes said slowly, "we should piss off three of the most psychotic criminals of Orre?"

"...yeah, kind of."

Wes smiled. "I'd probably do it for free," he said.

Rui smiled back, leaned forward and gave Wes a little kiss on the cheek. "I knew you'd love the plan. Meet me in Pyrite Town, at Duel Square at eight o'clock, tonight. We'll never have to smuggle a Pokémon again!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Present day**_

 _ **Location: Vien Forest, Almia**_

There was a road that connected Pueltown and Vientown, but Hilda had insisted on taking the forest route instead, claiming it was a "shortcut". And maybe it was, but trekking through the dark, thick woods ankle-deep in grass, mud and other gunk wasn't something Wes liked doing. It was all so much easier in the desert.

At least Hilda kept Wes entertained telling what she had been up to since they last saw each other. And, in turn, Wes told Hilda what he had been doing, only to met with the same response every time:

"I don't believe you," Hilda would say.

"I'm telling ya, I did it," Wes insisted. "I defeated Cyrus and possibly stopped Giratina from invading our world. Well, okay, Kris, Iris and a group of elite trainers including Champions like Cynthia, Lance, Steven and so on may have _helped_ , but it was mostly me."

"So what are you doing here now?" Hilda asked. "No, silly me, it's pretty obvious by now."

"…it is?" Wes wondered. "Funny, it isn't to me."

"You're here because of her, aren't you?"

"...who?"

Hilda chuckled. "Wow, you really don't know, huh?" she said, annoying Wes. "You don't know that Kris is here in Almia, right now, studying in the Ranger School? Oh, and Iris and Lyra, too."

Hilda laughed and continued walking while Wes slowed down a bit, processing it all. He didn't have time to be shocked, though, as something he just realized came to him.

"Are _you_ here because of her, then?" Wes asked. "Is this just like last time? You're going to involve her in something dangerous? What is it now, ancient evil, or some guy with too much money and free time deciding to play supervillain? Or is there another legendary Pokémon Master to be rescued, or prophecy to be fulfilled?"

Hilda raised her eyebrows at Wes after the last bit, making Wes scoff.

"Right, well, you're a bit too late," he said, "seeing as we did everything that prophecy said already. We thwarted Giratina, found Red and brought him out of hiding – well, again, Kris did that, but-"

"The prophecy isn't some checklist of things to cross off in hopes of a cosmic reward," Hilda said condescendingly. "It's an epic tale that spans for millennia. Only bits of it have been translated, and who knows how much of the original intent has been lost in translation. As far as we know, we've only seen the first chapter."

Wes frowned. "Why is the Pokémon League so interested in this?"

Hilda smirked. "Who says I'm doing this for them?"

As Wes tried to ponder Hilda's words, the sounds of the forest were abruptly cut off by loud, distorted music playing from low-quality speakers. Wes didn't have to wonder what was going on for long, as he soon heard three amplified voices chant in unison:

" _ **Pokémon-a-go-go!**_ "

"Oh, gimme a break," Wes groaned quietly.

Garret, the bassist of the Go-Rock Quads, emerged from the bushes, looking as politely disinterested as ever.

" _From across the sea, the Fiore-born quadruplets have arrived!_ " he sang.

Tiffany, the only female sibling sporting an electric violin, arrived next. " _If you know us, you're a beloved fan_ ," she sang and blew a kiss at Wes. " _You knew us as a criminal quartet then_!"

Billy, the guitarist, also emerged, although he got briefly tangled in vines and messed up his timing, causing him to sing more angrily: " _But that's all in the past!_ " he declared. " _We've had a change of heart and direction! We've transformed into purveyors of theatrical rock_!"

" _What's the name of our band_?!" the three sang together, and immediately continued: " _Go-Rock Quads! We can't hear you! Go-Rock Quads! Don't be shy! Shout it, loud and proud! GO-ROCK QUADS!_ "

" _The quadruplet family band_ ," Tiffany sang, " _Four is the magic number_ _for_ _any band_!"

" _Four instead of three_!" Billy shouted. " _Four rather than five_!"

The three ended their song with pretty darn cool solos with their respective instruments. Wes shook his head in embarrassment, but Hilda applauded sincerely.

"Thank you, thank you," Tiffany said as the three bowed. "We live to entertain you!"

"Man, that last part sucked, though!" Billy complained. "We still need to figure out this three-man – sorry, two-man-one-woman – thing!"

"Well, until he gets his 'inspiration'," Garret said with sarcastic air quotes, "Clyde is gonna have to stay on the sidelines. Plus, if he wasn't my brother… well, drummers are pretty replaceable."

"Wes, just be quiet, I'll do the talking," Hilda warned. "So," she told the ¾ of the Go-Rock Quads. "Great song, and with a pretty, uh, good message as well. You guys have turned over a new leaf, huh?"

"That's right!" Billy announced proudly. "We live for music, not for crime!"

"So, then you'll let us pass?"

"Not a chance!" Tiffany said harshly. "Clyde called and told us what you two did to him! And an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us!"

"Even if it is Clyde," Garret mumbled.

Wes rolled his eyes. "So what do you want?" he asked. "To battle us? 'Cause last I checked, it's pretty darn illegal here."

Shocked by this news, Billy, Tiffany and Garret huddled together to whisper for a few seconds. Hilda and Wes waited patiently for them to finish.

"All right!" Billy announced once they were done. "We will not command our Pokémon to fight you!"

"Thanks," Hilda said sarcastically.

"But instead," Tiffany said and pointed the bow of her violin at Hilda, "we'll use the Super Stylers in our instruments to summon the Pokémon we _happened_ to bring along to kick your asses! It'll be the Pokémon who whooped you, not us!"

"Hit it!" Billy ordered.

Tiffany played a few notes on her violin, summoning two Camerupt that crushed the trees and bushes in their path. Then, Garret did a bass solo that summoned in two Scizor that flew their way in. Sighing, Hilda retreated a few steps and took out a Poké Ball.

"What do say, Wes, wanna help me out?" she asked. "Not that I couldn't handle this myself, but, you know, for old times' sake?"

"Sure," Wes smirked, "Ninetales, go!"

"Emboar, go!"

While Wes went with his only fire-type, Hilda sent out her starter, the bulky fire- and fighting-type. Wes ordered a Confuse Ray, which hit the other Scizor and took it out of the match, allowing Ninetales to focus its attacks on the other Scizor, which had to focus on dodging Ninetales' Flamethrower.

Hilda went with sheer power instead. She ordered Emboar to use Head Smash, and the Mega Fire Pig's whole body glowed in a bluish white aura as it rammed at one of the Camerupt with full force, knocking it out with a single hit. The other Camerupt tried to use Body Slam, but Emboar dodged and countered with Arm Thrust.

Wes grinned – the Go-Rock Quads had chosen poorly. The Camerupt couldn't use their strongest ground-type moves in fear of hitting each other, while their fire-type moves, which would be weak anyway, had a risk of hitting the Scizor. As Wes ordered a Fire Spin and managed to trap the other Scizor in place, he was finally able to finish it off with a Flamethrower.

But the other Scizor recovered and quickly buzzed behind Ninetales, striking with a Night Slash that knocked the Ninetales out. Wes withdrew it and sent out his Zebstrika instead while Hilda's Emboar and the Go-Rocks' Camerupt were stuck trying to wrestle each other down.

"Time for the second verse!" Billy instructed. "Crank it up to eleven!"

The Go-Rocks stopped playing for a second, then Tiffany broke the silence with a few beautiful violin notes, followed by a mood-breaking bass solo from Garret.

As soon as they were done, the remaining Scizor and Camerupt ceased fighting Wes and Hilda's Pokémon and instead retreated before being enveloped by a bright, colorful glow. Camerupt grew larger, bulkier and hairier, with the two humps on its back fusing into a large volcano that spewed out smoke and lava. Scizor's claws grew in length and gained serrated edges while pieces of black armor covered various parts of its body.

"How?!" Wes wailed. "How were __you__ able to achieve Mega Evolution?"

"Who cares how, we can take 'em!" Hilda yelled with an insane grin on her face. "Emboar, Earthquake!"

"Hilda, no!"

But Wes' warning was too late. Emboar dutifully obeyed her master, pounding the ground with enough force to cause a massive tremor. Mega Scizor was fast enough to dodge, but both Wes' Zebstrika and Tiffany's Mega Camerupt were knocked out by the force while Tiffany herself lost her balance and fell into a sinkhole created by the attack. Wes managed to withdraw his unconscious Zebstrika before the same happened to it.

Frustrated, Garret prepared for his bass solo to instruct Scizor. He wasn't, however, prepared for Hilda yelling at the top of her lungs, driven by pure adrenaline, and charging towards Garret, shattering the neck of Garret's bass with one swift kick, then flooring Garret himself with a punch.

"Heat Crash!" Hilda yelled.

As Mega Scizor was confused by its lack of instruction, Emboar jumped into the air, surrounded itself with a sphere of flames, then propelled its massive body towards the Scizor. Mega-evolved or not, the sheer force of the attack knocked it out with one hit, and in a flash of light, the unconscious Scizor returned to its non-Mega state.

Billy and Tiffany tried to rush to help their brother, but Hilda stepped on Garret's neck and glared at the two siblings. The warning sign was clear, and Billy nodded at Tiffany, who dropped her violin while Billy reluctantly let go of his guitar. Still confused as to what had just transpired, Wes slowly walked to Hilda.

"Are you insane?" he whispered at her. "You could have seriously hurt Zebstrika!"

"I had everything under control, and besides, it all worked out, didn't it?" Hilda said cheerfully. "You two!" she barked at Billy and Tiffany. "You said you had something called Super Stylers in your instruments? Might wanna explain in terms even Wes here can understand?"

"Hey!"

"We don't know how they work, I swear!" Billy whimpered, no traces of his earlier bravado left. "Team Dim Sun got them for us, said they were a gift from the Grand Master! We were supposed to use them just for one gig, to cause a distraction at a library in Summerland in Fiore."

"Clyde's the only one who talked with them," Tiffany wailed at Hilda. "Please, step off my brother!"

Wes nodded at Hilda, seeing that Garret was struggling to breathe as Hilda was pressing on his throat with her shoe. Hilda sighed, stepped off the bassist and roughly helped him up, then pushed the humiliated man back to his siblings.

"Some kid delivered these to him," Tiffany explained, gesturing at her violin. "Said these could control Pokémon without the need for bonds or friendship and that other hippie crap the Rangers like to talk about."

"Yeah, who was that punk, he said he worked at Altru?" Billy asked the others. "He was short, had hair shaped like a Shroomish, his name was… um..."

"Isaac?" Wes asked.

"Yeah!" Billy said, nodding furiously. "He said he personally knows Blake Hall, the CEO of Altru. Someone oughta warn Hall that one of his employees is dirty."

" _We'll_ take care of that," Hilda said firmly. "But who is this Grand Master I've been hearing about?"

"Some rich schmuck," Tiffany said with a shrug. "He probably gets his jollies by forcing people to call him that. We've never met him, I'm telling the truth!"

"But whoever he is, Team Dim Sun is answering to him," Billy said. "They tried to kill Chairperson Erma not too long ago and they kidnapped Hastings. Everyone in this country who has even a little bit of authority is a potential target. So we we gotta get out of here!"

"Yeah, our music can bring change, man!" Tiffany agreed and crouched to pick up her violin. "And with those Super Stylers, we could use it for good-"

"Emboar!" Hilda said and pointed at the instruments on the ground.

Billy, Tiffany and Garret backed away as Emboar marched over to them and roughly stomped on Tiffany's violin and Billy's guitar, smashing both into pieces. The horrified looks on the siblings' faces made even Wes cringe, but Hilda just smiled in satisfaction.

"Sorry," Hilda said casually. "But we can't exactly trust you with those. My advice is that you buy new ones that _don't_ have any freaky mind-control powers. C'mon, Wes!"

Hilda withdrew Emboar and kept on walking. Wondering if he should apologize to the Go-Rock Quads who just stared at their broken instruments, Wes instead followed Hilda.

"To see that Isaac guy?" Wes asked.

"No, we're going straight to this Blake Hall," Hilda said cheerfully. "He can help us catch that Isaac guy off-guard, I'll beat him up and make him tell where Hasting is, you can get the credit for saving the professor while I'll have done my job."

"Your job?" Wes wondered. "So… you don't care about getting the credit?"

Hilda just smiled. "Nice going, by the way, with the battle," she said. "You may have even helped a bit."

"Uh, thanks, I guess. I'm surprised you kept going with Emboar. Why didn't you use Samurott instead?"

"That's Hilbert's Pokémon."

Wes just stared at Hilda. He had first met her at Navel Rock two years earlier. Hilda and a group of others worked for the Pokémon League while Wes, as a freelancer, was assigned to help them. Hilbert was part of Hilda's group and the two were, as far as Wes understood it, romantically involved. Long story short, only a few people survived that mission.

And Hilbert wasn't one of them.

So, Wes changed the subject instead. "Umm, so how are you going to get an appointment with Blake Hall? He runs the biggest company in the region, he probably won't let us through the front door!"

"I'll use my natural charm, of course," Hilda replied breezily.

"I don't believe you," Wes said.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Altru Building, Pueltown, Almia**_

 _ **A few hours later…**_

Wes and Hilda sat in front of the desk of Blake Hall, CEO of Altru Inc, the man himself on his way to meet them. Hilda smiled smugly at Wes.

"Do you believe me now?" she asked.

Wes folded his arms grumpily. "It only worked 'cause you work for the Pokémon League. It would have caused some kinda incident or somethin' if they hadn't let you in."

"Yeah, well, it pays to be important," Hilda said, leaning back on her chair with her hands behind her neck. "You should try it sometime."

Before Wes could offer a comeback, Blake Hall entered the room. For such an important man, he didn't have any escorts or bodyguards with him. He was a tall, middle-aged man wearing a sharp black suit, commanding respect immediately. This was somewhat countered by his long, black hair being tied on a ponytail and the fact that he wore dark sunglasses indoors.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Hall," Hilda told him immediately in a ditzy, ass-kissing tone that caught Wes completely off-guard. "We wouldn't bother such an important man if our matter wasn't urgent."

"Not at all," Hall said politely as he sat behind his desk. "Professor Hasting is a good friend of mine. It's my duty to help the people who will bring him back."

"You're awfully confident that we'll succeed," Wes remarked.

Hall shrugged. "I have to have faith," he said. "The local Rangers have recommended you," he nodded at Wes, "and the young lady works for the Unova Pokémon League. If we co-operate, we can save Hastings and bring Dim Sun to justice for what they've done."

"And what do you think Team Dim Sun's motive is?" Wes asked Hall. "No ransom demands have been made. Something he was working on, maybe?"

"I'm afraid I can't say, as business has precluded me from seeing my friend lately," Hall sighed. "I was hoping you could shine some light on it for me. My assistant told me what you told him about Isaac, but have you come across anything else in your investigation?"

"Gosh, I'm afraid not!" Hilda said loudly before Wes could say anything. "But with the help of you and Altru Incorporated, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it."

"Fair enough," Hall said with a nod. "Isaac has a day off today, but he has been a _very_ enthusiastic employee. Perhaps I should have seen the truth sooner… nonetheless, I told him personally that there was an emergency and his expertise would be required at a project in the Altru Tower. It's a skyscraper we've been constructing, slightly to the north of here. I trust you will get to the bottom of it and find out where they've taken Hastings."

"Will do!" Hilda announced as she, Wes and Hall stood up.

"Good luck, and let me know as soon as you find anything!" Hall said and shook hands with Wes and Hilda before they left.

"And what was _that_ about?" Wes whispered to Hilda as the two left Hall's office.

"Later," Hilda said. "Isaac might not be the only inside man in the company. We might have to deal with Team Dim Sun sooner rather than later. Good thing I'm used to dealing with these costumed freaks."

"Well, I've done it a lot more," Wes said defensively. "Ever since I was a teen, back in Orre!"

"Really?" Hilda laughed. "Well, by all means, don't let me get in the way, senpai!"

But Wes couldn't hear Hilda's sarcasm as he was lost in his thoughts.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Four years ago…**_

As promised, Wes had met Rui in Pyrite Town, at Duel Square. But despite the seriousness of their mission, the always cheerful Rui had made Wes put on a blindfold, then walk in the direction Rui guided him into. After bumping into walls and rocks several times, Wes suspecting that Rui had made him do it on purpose, and after walking what seemed like a mile, composed mostly of stairs leading down, Rui finally told Wes to take off the blindfold.

And what Wes saw after that made him gasp.

They had traveled to another city, a dark, dank place with most of the buildings made of stone. But what impressed Wes the most was the rocky "ceiling" of the city – which was apparently situated right underneath Pyrite Town in a gigantic underground cave originally inhabited by miners.

"So this is… The 'Under'?" Wes asked Rui, who nodded. "I've heard of this place! Why didn't you tell me the job was gonna take place here?"

"That would have ruined the surprise, dummy!" Rui said and nudged Wes on the shoulder again, this time harder than usually. "Isn't this place cool?!"

Wes had to admire it. An artificial cave, hollowed out by hard-working pioneers, proof of human overcoming nature, allowing them to survive off the fat of the land…

...filled with dirty streets, crumbling buildings and shady criminals. Even weirder were the large TV screens filling the city, though all of them seemed to be turned off.

Rui guided Wes through the monochrome streets of the Under, past various shady establishments, instructing Wes not to look at anyone in the eye and try to act like he blended in. Wes never really got the hang of how to act like a thug, though, and he was sure everyone they passed was staring at him.

Finally, Rui arrived to her destination: an ordinary door at the side of a seemingly nondescript building.

"Herrrre we are!" Rui said cheerfully.

"It's… a door," Wes commented. "An old, rusty door. Can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a door this old."

"Wesley," Rui scolded, though she smiled slightly. "We came here for the Vivillon, and that's what we're gonna get. But if the info I received was right… it's right under our feet."

Confused, Wes followed Rui as she opened the door, then quickly closed it behind her once she and Wes were in. They were now in a a dark, dank staircase dimly lit by flickering fluorescent lights. A set of spiraling, unsafe-looking metal stairs led further down into the depths of the Under.

"C'mon, it's right down here!" Rui told Wes and carelessly started walking down the stairs. Sighing, Wes followed her.

"How did you hear about this?" Wes wondered as the two descended.

Rui took a while to answer. "Yeah, about that… I need to tell you something," she said. "I know I said I'd do this deal with Mr. Verich ,but-"

"No!" Wes snapped. "No buts! There should be nothing after that sentence!"

"Just hear me out!" Rui argued. "There's a man called Gonzap, he runs this gang who's also interested in the Vivillon. He can't afford to pay as much as Verich-"

"So why are we even having this conversation?"

"Because!" Rui said manically. "If we do this for him, he'll give us these jobs on a permanent basis! We do this for a year or two and then we can retire, not having to worry about money ever again!"

Wes frowned. Changing plans at this point didn't seem smart to him, but Rui seemed to know what she was doing. Plus it was not like Wes had it in him to argue with her and potentially drive her away from him.

"Okay, well, that sounds good, but can we talk about it once we actually _find_ the Pokémon?"

"There's no 'if' about it, Wes!" Rui declared happily and stopped on her track. "We're here!"

The stairs ended in front of another door. As Rui casually opened it and Wes followed through, the two were in an even darker and danker place – like a subway tunnel. There were crates piled all over the place, mostly around the empty train. Wes tried to get a glimpse of where the subway tunnel was going, but all he could see was more darkness. Like back in the underground city, there were large screens all over the subway platform. As curious as he was, there was no time for questions, as Rui was already making her way towards the crates.

Wes and Rui weren't alone, though. There were people, normal-looking men and women, in civilian clothing stacking the boxes and opening them while checking things off lists, as if in search of something.

"Uh…. Rui?" Wes whispered.

"Quiet," Rui hissed. "Just act like you belong here and follow my instructions. Even if they know about the Vivillon, this means they haven't found it yet. And _I_ know that the crate is marked with a special symbol thanks to Verich's info. Just be cool and follow me and _nothing_ can go wrong."

Rui had barely finished her sentence before all the screens suddenly turned on at the same time, broadcasting the face of a pretty, brown-haired woman clad in pink, a pink veil covering a part of her face, accompanied by a blaring theme music:

" _I'm your Venus_ ~!"

"Not her!" Wes wailed while Rui just bit her lip in annoyance.

"Her? As in... _the_ Venus?" Rui asked.

Wes nodded. A colleague of Nascour and Miror B. and one of the most loved – and feared – mercenaries in Orre, Venus' status as idol as masked the fact that the reason she got on screen in the first place was through crime.

" _My beloved_ _workers_!" Venus announced, and everyone at the station turned to look at the screens, their faces lit with adoration. " _You've done an excellent job! But I have_ _sad news! It seems two spies have entered the Under and are in your mix at this very moment_!"

"Rui," Wes whispered, but Rui just shushed her, staring at a screen intently.

" _I'm talking directly to you, Rui, my darling~_ ," Venus cooed. " _Did you really think we wouldn't notice your meeting with Gonzap and Team Snagem?"_

"That guy's with Team Snagem?!" Wes hissed, but Rui didn't listen.

" _Mr. Verich is very displeased with your betrayal, and the fact that you've dragged young Wes' future into the muck with you_ ," Venus said dramatically. " _Workers! Here are the faces of the two enemies of the state_!"

"Damn it!" Rui said.

Wes' stomach turned as the images of both Wes and Rui suddenly appeared on every single screen, side by side, complete with closeup images of their faces. And then, as if in slow-motion, every thug in the subway station seemed to turn to look at Wes and Rui.

" _Your idol Venus offers you a reward for their capture_!" Venus announced cheerfully as her face returned on the screen, then added with a wink: " _Dead or alive_!"

Several thugs were pulling out Poké Balls or cracking their fists while Wes and Rui pushed their backs against each other, feeling like cornered Rattata. But what Wes remembered about the situation most was what Rui told him next, to his confusion and horror:

"Ooh," she said with a tremble in her voice. "This is gonna be so much fun~!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Present day**_

 _ **Location: Altru Tower, Almia**_

Wes and Hilda had arrived to a computer room in the fourth floor of the Altru Tower. This is where Blake Hall had told Isaac to meet them. Only the room was empty. And as soon as the duo were inside, the door behind them closed while several men and women in black clothes emerged from the shadows. Red flashes appeared all over the room, releasing several Machoke, Koffing, Beedrill and Rhyhorn, trapping Wes and Hilda in the middle of a ring of enemies.

"Dim Sun Grunts," Hilda remarked to Wes, seeing the purple emblem in the chests of the black-clad thugs.

"Did they know about our meeting with Hall?" Wes whispered. "How?!"

"Wes, you poor naive thing," Hilda sighed. "Hall is-"

" _How are you going to end that sentence, Ms. Hilda_?!"

Blake Hall's face appeared on the large screen of the room's main computer, all Dim Sun Grunts in the room suddenly assuming a position and saluting the screen.

" _My 'dear friend' Hastings needs to stay with us just a little longer_ ," Hall declared. " _For you two, I have already prepared a perfect story._ _Isaac found out about our meeting and warned his friends at Team Dim Sun, and despite your valiant efforts, you and your Pokémon were killed in combat_. _Me and my company announce how terrible we feel and how we will do our utmost to help destroy Team Dim Sun and blah blah blah. Of course, whether or not I release this story depends on your co-operation_."

"What do you want from us, Hall?" Hilda asked, hand on her waist, ready to send her Serperior out.

" _What do you know about the Pokémon Jirachi_?"

"What?!" Wes yelled at the screen while Hilda remained silent. "What are you talking about?"

" _I see_ ," Hall said. " _Troops! You know what to do with them! Hall out_."

The screen turned off as the Dim Sun grunts and their Pokémon began to slowly approach Wes and Hilda, their backs against each other and both ready to send out their Pokémon.

"Any tips?" Wes muttered at Hilda.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "get ready to fight."

Wes sighed. "Anything else?!"

"Just enjoy yourself," Hilda said and licked her lips. "This is gonna be so much fun!"


	5. Circle of the Torn World

**Chapter Five:** _ **Circle of the Torn World**_

 _ **Location: Ranger School, Almia**_

It was the eve of the Ranger Tournament, and everyone at the school were restless. Midterms were over, but no one had time to party as everyone was either busy preparing for the contest or busy making bets about the winner. There would be time for celebrations tomorrow, at the end of the contest, when the winner would be the talk of the region for a year.

As Kris was busy practicing with Lunick, Iris was sitting in the school library, nervous about meeting her. Tomorrow, after the contest, Drayden would come and take her to Unova, prepping Iris for her future career as a gym leader. She had been putting off saying goodbye or even thinking about what to say all week. Lyra was also busy training, but fortunately Dawn, who would be one of the judges of the competition, was there to give her something else to talk about.

As in, Iris literally couldn't think about anything else when Dawn was prattling on:

"-and then Lucas was spreading rumors about me at the school!" she ranted. "Always acting so innocent, as if he hadn't been the one who told everyone that I was a rich snob, that I thought Rangers were dirty mud-people, or some crap like that. And he had the _gall_ to accuse me of spreading rumors about _him_! I never want to talk to that two-faced bastard ever again! Do you know how hard it has been to repair my reputation?!"

While Dawn ranted, a student brought Dawn a cup of herbal tea and a ring with a ginormous jewel on it.

"This was just polished as per your request, Miss Dawn," the student told Dawn.

"Thank you," Dawn told her and gave her a bill without even looking at the number on it – Iris saw a lot of zeroes. "It's like," Dawn continued as she turned to Iris as if nothing had happened, "I left home to get _away_ from that kind of life."

"Hmm, yeah," Iris muttered, her nose stuck in one of the many books piled in front of her. "So the Poké Assist status effects included Tired, Slowed, Stopped and… hmm…"

"It's Paused, which prevents the opposing Pokémon from using moves," Dawn listed quickly without even a second thought. "Anyway, how am I supposed to do my job as an instructor here if people don't take me seriously?!"

"Um, Dawn," Iris said.

The girl who had brought Dawn her tea and ring hadn't left, she was still standing there, smiling awkwardly while holding a pamphlet of some kind.

"Yes?" Dawn asked her.

"I was just thinking," the girl said, grinning and her eyes crazily wide. "Have you two already accepted our Divine Ruler to your hearts?"

"Yeah, we're down with Arceus and stuff," Dawn said, trying to shoo the girl away. "Thanks anyway!"

"Arceus?!" the girl repeated, either not noticing or not caring about Dawn's attempts to make her leave. "Oh no no no no! The Circle does not recognize false idols. I understand that thousands of years of propaganda has messed with your minds, and I don't judge you for your beliefs. But if you ever want to be a part of true perfection, consider visiting us in the Circle. We have twenty active members and over fifty people enlisted in total at this school. Please, read more here."

Dawn snatched the pamphlet from the girl harshly and shoved it to Iris without even looking at it, then stood up.

"Yeah, thanks," she said curtly. "Iris, let's go."

"Oh, yeah, uh, sure…."

Iris hastily crammed as many books as she could into her bag and followed Dawn out of the library, and into the corridor leading outside to the grounds. It was a bright, sunny day, and most Rangers had taken their training and studying outside. While Dawn kept rambling on about Lucas and what a terrible person he was, Iris occasionally have a halfhearted "mm" while reading the pamphlet.

"Anything interesting?" Dawn suddenly asked Iris, snapping her out of it.

"Oh, what? Uh, no," Iris said quietly. "Well, I mean, kind of, not that I'm gonna join them or anything. It's just that I've never heard of this 'Circle'!"

"Father's company got into trouble with them once in Sinnoh," Dawn said, catching Iris' interest. "It's a worldwide movement that started in the Internet and is catching on in pretty much every region."

"And what does this 'movement' do?" Iris asked.

"Well, they… Um, they… you're the one with the brochure!"

"That's just it," Iris said, frowning as she read the pamphlet. "It doesn't give me much facts to go on. It says the original name is 'Circle of the Torn World', some rambling about making the world a united place and about some kind of God-figure called the 'One'."

"Always so dramatic," Dawn laughed. "When I started working here I've been asked to join at least a hundred clubs, many of which were some kind of cults or religious groups. And most of them are just excuses to go out eating and drinking once a month. Those people just do it on a larger scale."

"I guess so..."

But Iris couldn't help but to stare at the logo at the back of the pamphlet: a dark purple circle with six spikes protruding out of it, pointing into every direction.

Meanwhile, out on the yard, Lunick observed Kris' training. Motivated by a chance of winning something, Kris' Feraligatr was also eagerly participating, even if Poké Assists didn't require as much physical effort from the Pokémon.

Kris had learned a lot during her time at the school, even if her motivations weren't as pure as she let on. Determinedly glaring at a target a hundred feet away from her on the grassy field, Kris picked a Poké Assist from her Styler.

"Croc, Water Assist!" she said, even if it wasn't necessary.

Kris' Feraligatr growled and glowed as Kris launched the Capture Disc from her Styler. Without trembling at all, the Capture Disc, glowing bright blue, flew several loops around the target while encasing it in a large bubble. As Kris pressed another button, the floating disc returned while the bubble burst.

"Now, Fighting Assist!" Kris yelled.

Croc flexed its arms and glowed again while Kris launched the Capture Disc again, this time with the disc glowing reddish brown. The disc shot out with much more force this time and looped around the target with enough speed to cause a twister which knocked the target down.

"Good work, Kris!" Lunick praised as the disc returned. "But you may want to take a break now."

"What, why?!" Kris snapped, tapping her Capture Styler. "There's still plenty of juice in this baby!"

"But not _that_ baby," Lunick said, nodding at Feraligatr, who had started panting like a Growlithe, its eyelids drooping a bit.

"Oh gosh, Croc, I'm sorry!" Kris cried, put the Styler away and rushed to hug the large water-type Pokémon. "I forgot!"

"The Assists drain the Pokémon's energy just as much as using powerful moves would," Lunick lectured. "And we've been at this non-stop for the past three hours."

"Yeah, I guess I have to start preparing for the theoretical part of the contest," Kris sighed. "Goody, my favorite part..."

"Kris! Lunick!"

"Speak of the devil," Kris said.

Iris and Dawn made their way to the two, Kris' mood turning for the worst when she saw the heavy bag Iris was toting around.

"We saw your Assists!" Iris said when she and Dawn arrived, full of energy as always – Dawn was busy with her PokéGear and looking disinterested. "You've made a lot of progress!"

"Well, yeah, maybe mine are a bit flashy," Kris said smugly and leaned against her Feraligatr, "but the students at the school need to know just who the foreign kid kicking their asses in the tournament is going to be."

"Her?" Dawn asked, pointing at someone else practicing nearby.

Not too far from Kris, Lyra was practicing, and it was hard to miss due to the enthusiastic shouting and applause coming from that corner, all of the Rangers in the area watching Lyra and her Typhlosion work on their Assists. Kris almost fell over when she saw Lyra's Fire Assist: the Capture Disc glowing with an intense red, the capture line it formed turning into a giant, fiery pillar that consumed the cardboard target, incinerating it until there was nothing left yet carefully avoiding the trees and the grass nearby, the flames dying down as quickly as they had started.

"Thanks, everyone, thank you!" Lyra said, sounding genuinely modest as she waved at the Rangers watching nearby.

As Scorch, Lyra's Typhlosion, collapsed on the grass out of exhaustion and Lyra petted it for a job well done, Lyra then noticed Kris and the others, and – to Kris' dismay – waved cheerfully at them and made her way over.

"Lunick," Kris said quietly as Lyra approached, "do you mind if we take our training elsewhere?"

"Actually, Kris, I mind," Lunick said quickly and started walking away. "Um, the principal needs to see me. Uh, alone. I'll see you later though, bye!"

When Kris raised her eyebrow at him suspiciously, Lunick just shrugged and quickly ran away, forcing Kris to confront the girl she had spent the better part of the week avoiding. To Kris' surprise, though, Lyra didn't even seem to acknowledge her, instead focusing on Iris and Dawn.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "Did you see that? Scorch and I have improved so much! And with all the studying I've done, tomorrow's tournament is gonna go great."

Kris ground her teeth together to avoid saying the terrible things that popped into her mind.

"That's great!" Iris said. "Kris has actually improved a lot, too, so don't be so sure you'll win!"

"Has she now," Lyra said, with only a quick glance at Kris. "Well, considering all the classes she skipped to 'train' I should sure hope so-"

Kris glared at Lyra. "Oh, shut the f-"

"Actually, Kris," Lyra said, sounding oddly reserved and staring at her shoes, "I was wondering if you had a moment to talk. Um, alone?"

Kris was taken by surprise. _Alone_? _What does that mean? She's gonna be on my case about me ignoring her this week, isn't she? Oh, I can just picture it in my mind…_

 _Wait, I can't,_ Kris thought. _'Cause that's not her style. Lyra doesn't take you somewhere private to say stuff like that. That stuff goes right through her filter. I mean, if she even HAD a filter_.

 _Then what does she want to say to me? Do I even want to hear it?!_

Kris just realized she had spent several seconds just opening and closing her mouth, not answering, as Lyra, Iris and Dawn stared at her expectantly.

 _Oh no_ , Kris thought. _I'm making this so awkward. I have to say something. Anything would be better than nothing!_

Still nothing came out.

 _THIS IS THE LONGEST TIME SOMEONE HAS GONE WITHOUT REPLYING!_

"..." Kris said.

 _ANYTHING TO GET OUT OF THIS AWKWARD SITUATION!_

"BARRY!" Kris suddenly shouted.

Lyra, Iris and Dawn were initially confused, then they also noticed Barry, hasty as usual, running across the yard and bumping into students as he dashed his way towards the school's main building.

"Hey, Barry, my friend!" Kris shouted.

"Since when?" Iris wondered, but Kris shushed her.

"Barry!" Kris yelled, finally catching Barry's attention – the blonde-haired boy instead continued 'running' while still, impatiently staring at Kris. "Um, what are you-"

"No time to chat!" Barry yelled frantically. "Lucas just called! The principal needs to see us! Important! There's a trillion pokédollar fine for me if I'm late!"

And then Barry was off, much to everyone's confusion. Even for him, this was manic. But the reason for Barry's haste soon became apparent as the voice of one of the teachers, Ms. April, suddenly blared through the loudspeakers across the school:

" _Attention all students_ ," she announced. " _The principal has an important announcement. Gather in the hall immediately. I repeat: all students, into the hall immediately!_ "

Whatever Lyra had to say, it would have to wait, much to Kris' relief, as Kris, Iris, Lyra and Dawn quickly made their way to the school's hall, basically a big, mostly empty room with a stage, usually reserved for graduation events and the like. Rushing to get the best view, the four stood along with the hundreds of other students, chattering amongst each other and eagerly staring at the stage, standing on their tiptoes to see what was going on. Lucas and Barry were also in the crowd, Lucas having probably heard of the event in advance, though Dawn insisted the girls kept their distance from them.

Ms. April stood on the stage, whispering frantically with principal Lamont Splendidocious himself, along with some important-looking Rangers. Lunick also stood somewhat on the background, hands behind his back and looking official. Kris couldn't even catch his attention despite her best efforts as Lunick just stared forward intensely.

Finally, Ms. April, a pale woman with bobbed, brown hair wearing a prim and proper green shirt and skirt, took the stage, speaking into a microphone.

" _Students_!" she boomed. " _I present to you, our principal, Lamont Splendidocious_!"

"This must be big," Iris whispered to Kris. "I heard he rarely talks in front of the whole school like this."

" _Thank you for gathering here_ ," the old principal said, his voice surprisingly strong for his age. " _I regret to inform you that an hour ago today, the faculty discovered something shocking. The school's supply of Capture Stylers have been stolen_!"

There was immediate murmuring amongst the students, many sounding panicked about the news, but Lamont pressed on:

" _Not only have the thieves made away with our supply of School Stylers, that have their Assist-function disabled, but also the Fine Stylers and prototypical Vatonage Stylers our technician students have been developing. Due to this, only certain members of the faculty and participants of tomorrow's tournament have active Stylers left. Because of the danger this puts our students and staff in, we have been forced to call in reinforcements from the Ranger Union._ "

" _Our teachers, Mr. Kaplan, Ms. Claire and Mr. Kincaid are searching the facilities for any clues about the stolen Stylers. In the meantime, the school has given the task of finding the Stylers to a Top Ranger from the Union. Ms. Solana, if you please_?"

"Thanks, pops," said the tall woman with light blue hair as he shoved the principal aside and took the stage, Kris groaning audibly at the sight of her. " _I, Solana, am in charge of this investigation now_!" she yelled despite being just inches away from the microphone. " _Rangers will be posted around the school 24/7! No student is permitted to leave the premises until the culprit has been found. I will_ personally _interrogate each and every student here until they confess to the crime, as I have reason to believe that this DASTARDLY thief is among you. I particularly suspect any recent transfer students or other new arrivals_..."

During that last bit, Solana seemed to stop to glare at Kris for a moment before continuing to address the crowd.

" _All students will wait in this hall!"_ Solana boomed. " _We will summon you to the back room one by one. Any student attempting to leave this hall will be treated as dangerous. And I must warn you: even if you are students, I won't hesitate to WRING the truth out of you if need be._ "

Solana emphasized her words by cracking her knuckles. When a wimpy-looking male student in the front row coughed softly, Solana glared at him.

" _Looks like we already have a prime suspect,"_ Solana said. " _Boys_! _Start with him_! _And the rest of you, I would think about your confessions if I were you._ "

Two rough-looking Rangers dragged the poor kid into the back room while Solana followed, putting on some rubber gloves while smiling in a sinister way. Deciding Kris wanted none of that, she looked elsewhere. Lunick and the other Rangers assumed positions by the exits, guarding them, while Ms. April escorted principal Lamont away from the hall. Left to their own, the students immediately started chattering about what had just happened, each wondering who would steal Capture Stylers and why.

With nothing else to do, Kris, Iris and Lyra sat down on the floor. Dawn was about to join them, but when she saw Lucas and Barry about to approach them, she instead pretended to notice a friend of hers in the crowd and walked away.

Kris noticed a group of students had organized themselves into a circle, with one particularly loud-mouthed student in the middle of it, wearing some kind of cape over his Ranger School uniform, making a grandiose speech:

"My brothers and sisters of the Circle!" he yelled, the students in the circle around him mesmerized by his speech. "The first omen has come to pass! The people chosen by The One have come to reclaim what's theirs and steal the weapons of this heretical society in order to usher in a new age."

"Long live the Circle!" the others chanted.

"Looks like those Circle loonies are at it again," Lyra remarked as she, Iris and Kris observed them, not even bothering to lower her voice.

"What the heck is the circle?" Kris wondered, and as an answer, Iris passed the Circle pamphlet to her.

As the Circle continued to loudly proclaim stuff about a new age and blah blah blah et cetera, Solana continued to bring in new people for questioning, seemingly scanning the room for Kris every time she did so, Kris dreading her turn, wondering if Solana was going to save her for last. Needing something else to think about, Kris started reading the Circle pamphlet while Iris stared at the Circle members, looking oddly interested in them.

"That's weird," Iris remarked after a short silence.

"What is?" Lyra asked, Kris too busy reading the pamphlet to reply.

"That girl who gave me that brochure, she's not with the others," Iris pointed out. "She said they have twenty active members in that school but I'm only counting nineteen people there."

"What?!" Kris said, snapping her head up and staring at the Circle members, who were now singing a cheerful song about the destruction of the heretics. "You sure?"

"Positive, I would definitely remember her," Iris said. "You don't think-"

Kris suddenly stood up. "Iris, we're one of the few people here who still have working Stylers, right?"

"Um, actually," Iris said nervously, "since I'm technically a student here, I had to switch to the regular School Styler..."

"Damn it!"

"Ooh, but I have one!" Lyra said enthusiastically and also stood up, shoving her Styler at Kris' face. "Look, here, here!"

"I see it!" Kris snapped. "Fine, I suppose we can do this thing together then."

"Yes!" Lyra said excitedly. "Um… what thing?"

"Yeah, what are you planning?" Iris asked.

"What else?" Kris said. "We're gonna find out who took those Stylers! I'd say we already have a better lead than _Solana_ over there – and I'm not looking forward to hearing how she'll try to pin the blame on me. Uh, us. Are you in?"

"Definitely!" Lyra said excitedly. "Finally I get to be a part of the action!"

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I'll go with you," Iris said hesitantly. "So just the three of us, then?"

"Well, actually..."

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **A few minutes later…**_

"No way in hell!" Barry yelled.

"I refuse to even discuss this!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, uh… well, I guess I agree..." Lucas muttered.

Kris, Iris and Lyra had gathered Dawn, Lucas and Barry together, but her attempts to get them all to join them on the hunt for the Styler thief weren't going as planned.

"Come on, you three!" Kris yelled back. "Don't do this for me – don't even do this for yourselves! You have to put your enmity aside and focus on the common enemy – the thief! Whoever they are, they threaten the safety of the Ranger Union and the very culture this great country is based on!"

Lucas was about to open his mouth, but Dawn and Barry both drowned him out, yelling "I don't care about that!" at the same time, making Lucas stay quiet. Kris pinched the bridge of her nose impatiently.

"Fine," she sighed. "Then how about this – you work in here as instructors, right? What do you think it will do to your reputation if you don't do your utmost to apprehend the thief? And likewise, how great will it look like if you two end up being the ones to capture them, eh?"

Lucas nodded, finally getting a word in. "You're right, Kris," he said. "Whatever the _others_ here may think," he glanced at Dawn, "it's our duty to help!"

"Hey, I'm not getting upstaged by this guy!" Dawn yelled. "I'm helping out as well, but only because my students would never respect me if I didn't!"

Kris looked at Barry, who sighed and shrugged.

"Guess I've got no choice," he lamented. "I doubt you could capture the culprit without my help anyway."

"Great, whatever, you'll go with Iris, then," Kris said. "I'm dividing us up to pairs to search for more ground. Look for anyone wandering the school who isn't one of the teachers! Iris, since you don't have a Styler, don't do anything rash, let Barry handle any fighting. In fact, if the thief attacks you, Barry can be a useful meat shield!"

"Hey!" Barry snapped.

"Dawn and Lucas, you'll be a pair – and no buts!" she yelled when both were about to protest. "Me and Lyra will be the third pair," Lyra blushed and looked away, but Kris didn't notice that and continued: "But if any one of you spots the thief, call the rest of us immediately! Don't take them on alone!"

"Yeah, well, your plan seems quite solid," Dawn said sarcastically, "but how are you going to get out of this room. There's Rangers at every exit!"

"Helps if you know one of them," Kris smiled.

The six, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, made their way to the exit where Lunick was standing at attention, though clearly confused when Kris and the others approached him.

"Lunick, keep your voice down," Kris told him quietly. "Look, if you want to find that thief, it's best if you let the six of us pass."

"Apologies, miss," Lunick said officially, as if he didn't know Kris, "but Solana has ordered us to stay here we are and use every resort to keep people from leaving."

Kris raised her eyebrows at him. "Lunick, it's me, come on!"

"And like I said," Lunick said quietly, winking at Kris, "I can't leave my post, so I cannot physically stop you from leaving, nor can I violate Ranger law by using my Pokémon to stop you."

"What do you… oh," Kris said and winked back. "Thanks," she whispered as she and the others squeezed past Lunick quietly, Lunick himself not doing a thing to stop them.

As Kris, Iris, Lyra, Dawn, Lucas and Barry made it to the hallways, Kris looked at Dawn smugly.

"Okay, fair enough," she said and started playing with her PokéGear again. "Now what?"

"We look for the thief, duh!" Kris said. "Well, we have a lead, though. Iris?"

"Yeah, Dawn, that student who brought you stuff earlier," Iris said, "she's not with the other students and I haven't seen her since. It's a good start, at least. I sort of remember what she looks like, she was short and she had blue eyes and brown hair tied to the back… but it would be easier if we had a photo."

"Well, that's easy," Dawn replied, not taking her eyes off her PokéGear. "Since I have access to the student records, all I would have to do is pull her photo from there and send it to the rest of you."

Everyone stared at Dawn, who still was on her PokéGear, Kris spreading her arms.

"So… do it, then?!" she snapped.

Dawn looked up. "Oh, what, right now? Fine."

In a couple of minutes, Dawn had managed to find the photo of the student, called Kate, and send it to everyone else. With that, the gang split up, Kris and Lyra heading upstairs, Dawn and Lucas to the yard and Iris and Barry searching downstairs.

At first, Iris and Barry walked in awkward silence, but pretty soon Barry opened his mouth to do what he did best: complain annoyingly.

"What was Kris' big idea making Dawn and Lucas team up, anyway?!" he ranted.

"Dunno," Iris replied absentmindedly as she kept scanning the hallways for any living soul, but the school seemed completely deserted.

"Well, if it's to get them to make amends, then forget it!" Barry rambled. "I worked too hard to keep them apart!"

"Uh huh – wait, what?!" Iris yelled. "What do you mean?"

"C'mon, Lucas doesn't go around spreading rumors about people!" Barry said. "And say what you will about Dawn, but that girl doesn't go around your back, she tells it to you straight – even when she shouldn't."

"So, then… _you_ spread those rumors?" Iris said in disgust. "… _why_?!"

"Because me and Lucas were a team!" Barry yelled, frustrated that Iris didn't seem to share his enthusiasm about it. "Ever since Dawn came along, things have been going downhill for him and me!"

"Why didn't you just talk about this with him?" Iris wondered. "He's your friend!"

"I did back in Sinnoh, but I thought maybe he'd come to his senses," Barry grumbled. "When that didn't happen, I took action! Besides, if a couple of rumors is enough to break whatever they had, how likely were they ever to get together in the first place?"

"Well, I mean, I guess you have a point there," Iris admitted. "But that still wasn't… ah, hold on, let's check out that classroom."

Wanting to drop the topic, Iris went on to turn the doorknob of the nearest classroom… but it didn't open. Barry, however, chuckled at this and took a key from his pocket.

"Good thing I'm here!" he said proudly.

"But you don't work here, do you?"

"Of course not! I, uh, borrowed it from Lucas. I mean, his 'safe hiding place' was a box with 'don't look in here' written on it sitting on his nightstand, how could I not?"

"Well, I'm not complaining..."

Iris took the key from Barry and unlocked the door – only to have it slammed on her face when someone burst out of the classroom: someone covered head to toe in a black and purple robe that covered even their face, carrying a large duffel bag with them. Barry retreated, hand on his Infernape's Poké Ball.

"Stop right there!" he yelled at the assailant. "I will defend the honor of-"

But the assailant stopped him easily by punching Barry in the face before dashing away. Recovering from the hit and only having suffered a nosebleed, Iris ran over to Barry.

"You okay?" she asked him, but Barry immediately sprang up, face red, gnashing his teeth furiously and not even registering Iris.

"How _dare_ that thief?!" he hissed. "I'll show them what a true Pokémon Ranger can do! AHHHHHHHHHH!"

With an ear-piercing battle cry, Barry ran after the thief. Knowing she could never keep up with him, Iris took out her PokéGear and called Kris. As soon as she picked up, Iris didn't wait around and immediately typed a message to everyone else: they had found the thief.

Finished sending the message, Iris was about to run after them, only to spot something the thief had dropped with their brief scuffle with Barry: a book. Glancing at the title, Iris put the book in her bag and followed Barry's trail.

 _ **Meanwhile, in the second floor…**_

Kris and Lyra walked through the corridors mostly in silence, making sure to check every classroom and closet they came across. Like with Iris and Barry, it was mostly an awkward silence between them, albeit for different reasons. Lyra did try to start a conversation multiple times, but each time the words got stuck in her throat and only quiet wheezing came out. Kris did eventually notice this, however.

"Are you okay?" she asked Lyra impatiently. "Are you getting sick or something? If so, stay away from-"

"No, no, nothing like that, I was just, um, wondering," Lyra said awkwardly. "I… was just wondering why you put Dawn and Lucas in the same team."

"Mostly 'cause I didn't want to go with any of them," Kris muttered as she kept on walking.

"Well… I know you act like you don't care," Lyra said carefully, "but could it be you actually do want to see those crazy kids make up their differences?"

Kris laughed joylessly. "Yeah, right," she said. "I just want them to stop their squabbling and make themselves useful." Kris turned to look at Lyra suspiciously. "Why do _you_ care, anyway?"

Kris turned away as Lyra tried to answer, making her way towards a nearby broom closet. Lyra bit her lip, the words right at the tip of her tongue but feeling like some powerful force in her stomach was pulling them down with all of its might. "I was just…." she stuttered. "I…"

Suddenly, both Lyra and Kris' PokéGears vibrated. Both read a message from Iris: " _We found the thief. Downstairs. You'll know em when you see em._ "

"Okay," Kris said nervously. "We gotta-"

But then Kris' PokéGear started ringing. She groaned, but answered anyway when she saw it was Barry who was calling.

As soon as she picked up the phone, she could hear Barry's frantic breathing and a lot of background noise.

"I'mafterthethief!" Barry rambled quickly before Kris could say anything. "Comingtothesecondfloor! Get ready!"

And then he hang up, but Kris got the message and quickly grabbed Croc's Poké Ball.

"The thief's coming here!" she told Lyra. "Iris said we'll know 'em when we see 'em, so keep your eyes open."

"And look forward, please!" Lyra shouted and pointed to the end of the hallway.

Kris looked as well: the mysterious figure clad in a black and purple robe dashed towards them, not slowing down even as Lyra stepped forward and grabbed her Typhlosion's Poké Ball.

"Right, you cover the rear and let me handle this!" she said, surprising Kris. "Scorch, gAAAH!"

The doors of the nearby broom closet – and the surrounding walls as well - were suddenly blown to bits as a huge, purple scorpion-like Pokémon, a Drapion, emerged from it, looking like it had barely fit in there in the first place. Startling Lyra, the Drapion whacked her with its tail, the two stingers scraping her arm and cutting right through her shirt and skin, drawing enough blood to leave a small puddle on the floor. Lyra collapsed and Kris had to send Croc out to deal with the Drapion.

"Croc, grab its stingers!" Kris instructed the Feraligatr as it emerged from the Poké Ball. "Don't let it strike you!"

Croc grunted in agreement and quickly grabbed the two tail-like protrusions sticking out of the sides of the Drapion's head.

"Watch out for its tail!" Kris yelled as Drapion was about to do the same to Croc that it did to Lyra, but Croc improvised and chomped down on Drapion's tail with its huge jaws, causing the Drapion to screech in pain.

Kris barely noticed as the thief merely dashed past her and disappeared behind the corner as she went to check on Lyra, who was cradling her arm with eyes tightly shut, face covered in sweat, muttering something to herself.

"Hey!" Kris yelled at her as she knelt next to the girl. "Lyra! Talk to me! What's going on?!"

"I..." Lyra gasped, twitching as Kris held her in her arms. "Hard to breathe… my arm is on fire…."

Kris was completely lost. She didn't know who to ask or what to do, she didn't even know how to comfort Lyra as the girl writhed in place, barely acknowledging Kris. Barry dashed past the two and ran after the thief, disappearing around the corner like he didn't even see Kris or Lyra. Meanwhile, Croc kept wrestling with the Drapion, the two evenly matched in terms of power.

"Just… stay with me, Lyra!" Kris shouted desperately, and even though there was no one around, resorted to shouting: "Hey! Somebody! Help!"

It was like someone had heard her pleas, however, as Iris soon ran to her, Dawn and Lucas following shortly. Kris immediately started babbling:

"Lyra! She got stung! Drapion! HELP!"

Kris looked at Iris for the answers, but surprisingly, it was Dawn who took command of the situation:

"A Drapion's sting is painful and early signs of a sting include sweating, muscle twitching, unusual head and eye movements and-"

Lyra completed the sentence by suddenly opening her eyes and mouth and vomiting right in Kris' lap. But Kris didn't even care, instead desperately looking at Dawn for advice.

"And that," Dawn said grimly. "It's a good thing I took that first aid class in here. Lucas!"

"Hm?" Lucas asked, surprised that Dawn even spoke to him.

"You've always been better at Poké Assists," Dawn said seriously. "Help deal with that. Use a Ground-type Assist! Iris, you help me keep Lyra steady!"

"Right," Iris said.

"Um… right," Lucas said, nodding anxiously. "Kris?"

Kris looked at Lyra in concern, but let Dawn and Iris take care of her. Lucas summoned his Torterra, who barely fit in the narrow hallways.

"Croc, quickly, step back!" Kris yelled as she and Lucas readied their Capture Stylers.

As Croc, obeyed, Drapion screeched at it while Kris and Lucas both yelled in unison: "Ground-type Assist!"

Croc and Torterra glowed as Kris and Lucas launched their Capture Discs. The discs looped around Drapion, and soon the floor beneath it began to shake and crumble, one of Drapion's claw-like legs suddenly stuck in a crack.

And with Drapion now unable to move, Kris yelled out her last order to Croc:

"Use Dynamic Punch!" she yelled.

Kris didn't care what Ranger rules said or if she'd get in trouble afterward. All that she cared about was hurting Drapion and the one who unleashed it in the first place. Croc pulled back its fist that soon began to glow white, and while Drapion watched helplessly, Croc punched the Poison-type with all its might, the attack causing a small explosion as it landed. Drapion began to stumble around after the attack, eventually whacking itself in the head with its own tail, knocking it out at last. Congratulating their Pokémon, Kris and Lucas quickly withdrew them.

Meanwhile, Dawn had injected Lyra with an antidote and was now treating the sting area, cleaning it and putting a bandage on it. Lyra had stopped twitching and she was able to focus her eyes, though she still kept her mouth tightly shut, only occasionally grunting in pain. When Dawn finished putting Lyra's arm in a makeshift sling, Lyra seemed actually good enough to stand up on her own.

"I did my best but she still needs medical attention," Dawn explained. "You need to take her to the principal."

"Okay, I'm on it," Iris said and tried to hold Lyra upright. "I'm sure Lunick will cover for us and think of something… wow, damn, she's heavy."

As Iris was about to topple over holding the taller Lyra upright, Kris sighed.

"I'll go with you," she said.

Iris stared at her. "You sure? But what about-"

"Barry's after that thief, and if there's one thing he's good at, it's being fast," Kris said as she hoisted Lyra's healthy arm over her shoulder. "Dawn, Lucas, I'm leaving this to you."

"To us?!" Lucas cried. "No, I don't-"

"You work at the school, it's your responsibility!" Kris yelled as she and Iris began to drag Lyra away. "Take care of it!"

Further protests were useless, as Kris, Iris and Lyra were soon gone. Glancing at each other awkwardly and shrugging, Dawn and Lucas decided to skip the talk and just follow Barry.

They didn't have to follow him far, though. Barry was just around the corner, outside a classroom, crouched down with his ear pressed against the door.

"Finally!" he yelled, throwing stealth out the window when he saw Dawn and Lucas approaching. "I've been sitting here for ages!"

"We took less than five minutes – treating a near-fatal injury while you've just been sitting here!" Dawn snapped at him. "What's happening?"

"The culprit is inside!" Barry announced proudly. "I have managed to back them against a corner. This is the only exit and the staff locked all the windows when news of the theft broke out. They're trapped, but..."

"But what?" Lucas wondered.

"Well, listen," Barry sighed. "Kate!" he yelled through the door. "Come on out and admit you're the thief!"

" _Stay back_!" cried the student inside the classroom, the voice unquestionably that of the girl who brought Dawn tea earlier. " _If anyone comes near, me, the Stylers and this whole classroom will burn to ashes!_ "

"Is she bluffing?" Dawn asked Barry.

Barry just shrugged. "Could be, but I'm not taking that chance. Imagine how embarrassing that would be for me!"

"Damn you, Kate," Dawn sighed. "She's one of my students! One of my students who actually weren't horrible, on top of that! She actually paid attention more often than not."

"Um, you meant to say our students, right?" Lucas asked her, meekly.

Dawn turned to glare at him. "Lucas, this is really not the time, and the situation hasn't changed anything between us."

"Oh, right, right."

"Well we have to do something!" Barry said impatiently. "Storming in and tackling her won't work, and that's the only idea I've got!"

"Kate!" Dawn yelled. "Come out of there and I'll forget about that test you failed! Just don't be an idiot, you idiot!"

Lucas bit his lip. "I'm no expert on psychics-"

"Psychology," Barry corrected.

"Psychology, yeah, but I don't think that's gonna work, Dawn."

"Well I haven't heard any bright ideas from _you_!" Dawn hissed. "Like, ever!"

Lucas just smiled serenely, putting his hand on Dawn's shoulder. "You already did your part helping Lyra and telling me how to put down that Drapion. I think it's my turn to do something."

"Do what?!" Barry and Dawn both yelled at him.

"Um… go in and talk to her."

Barry stared at Lucas in disbelief, then just shrugged. "Hey, it ain't my school, but if she gets out the lighter, you get out of there!" he snapped. "Kate!" he yelled at the door again. "We're sending in someone to negotiate, is that cool?!"

" _If it's you, then no_!"

Barry rolled his eyes while Lucas held back laughter. "No, Kate, it's me, Lucas," he said gently. "You've been in me and Dawn's class many times. Can I come in and chat?"

There was a brief pause. Then…

" _A-all right. But only you_!"

Casually giving Dawn and Barry a thumbs-up, Lucas walked into the classroom. There was Kate, her black and purple robe lowered enough to show her panicked face. She had turned some desks over to make a crude barricade while she stood on a chair, holding two strings in one hand and a lighter in the other. Lucas noticed the strings were attached to two barrels full of something foul-smelling and no doubt flammable. Lucas approached her a bit but kept his distance.

"Hi, Kate," he said gently. "From the look of things, you're not doing okay."

"Stand back, Lucas!" Kate yelled at him. "I light these strings and the contents of these barrels will be set ablaze. Once I knock them over, the whole classroom will go up. And I've… I've soaked my clothes in that stuff, too."

"Sheesh," Lucas said quietly. Then he noticed a few cardboard boxes next to Kate, stacked with both red and green Capture Stylers. "Why'd you do it, Kate? And I mean I'm honestly just curious. You were always good in class, so this can't exactly be an act of rebellion or anything."

"I don't need to explain myself to you!" Kate said, her voice cracking a bit. "This act will surely get me into the inner parts of the Circle!"

"Ah, the Circle," Lucas said with a sage nod. "Seems like a nice bunch, you having each other's backs, having fun together, having your exclusive little thing… must be nice to feel like you belong."

"You wouldn't understand," Kate said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess everyone's situation is a bit different," Lucas said with a shrug, putting his hands in his pockets while he strolled around the classroom casually. "The town I grew up in, Twinleaf, was really isolated from everything. I was totally unlike you in school. I didn't do so well and I was kinda bullied, you know, me being so dumb and all. But there was still one person who never abandoned me and always had my back, even when I felt really lonely. And that's my best friend, Barry."

"Are you going somewhere with this?!" Kate groaned. "My arm is getting tired!"

"Yeah, sorry, I don't wanna make this about myself, but there's a point to this," Lucas said patiently. "There are times when Barry drove me crazy, times when he didn't treat me much better than some of those bullies did, but we stuck together and I got to see sides of him I didn't even think he had. I mean, you've talked to him, that guy can be real full of himself sometimes!"

Lucas could faintly hear Barry's indignant sputtering from behind the door.

"Then I met Dawn, and she's from a whole different world," Lucas continued. "She's rich, smart, confident, all the things I never was. I gotta admit that when I first laid eyes on her, I was smitten, but it wasn't really deep or anything. Just physical stuff. But then, over time, I've gotten to know her too, and I saw that it wasn't about just what's on the surface. She can be real kind and gentle when she wants to be, and even now that she dislikes me, she's still treating me like an equal. I don't need to serve her every whim to be her friend."

Kate stared at Lucas, breathing heavily, but not saying a word.

"And when the three of us traveled 'round Sinnoh, I saw what blindly obeying someone does to you," Lucas said. "There were these weird people in spacesuits with lame bowl cuts going around the region, stealing, threatening, destroying, doing all kinds of bad stuff. But even then I kinda felt sorry for them. Maybe they didn't have any other place that took 'em in, you know? Maybe I saw a little something of myself in them or something."

"I..." Kate muttered. "I had no choice doing this. The Circle, it demands… You can't..."

"Hey, I can't tell you what to do," Lucas said, "but I just think that you shouldn't need to depend on some group of guys telling you what is right. You're more than capable of figuring that out on your own, right?"

Kate's hands trembled. Lucas shrugged and let out a little laugh.

"I mean, that's just my opinion, I don't usually know much about these things," he said. "What I do know, though, is that you basically just stole some Stylers, right? Sure, they're valuable and useful, but in the end, they're just stuff. And you can still return them. But if you light everything up now, well, that's kind of a decision you can't back down from."

Shutting her eyes tightly, Kate took a deep breath and dropped the strings she was holding. Lucas slowly made his way past the desk barricade and gently helped the shaking girl down. At that moment, Dawn and Barry, having listened in on the whole thing, stormed into the room. Barry quickly went to removing the barrels from Kate's vicinity while Dawn grabbed the lighter away from Kate.

It didn't take long for Solana and her Rangers to arrive, having already been informed of the thief's whereabouts by Kris and Iris. Kate gave herself in pretty quietly and the Stylers were retrieved. However, as the Rangers inspected the boxes, they noted that the regular and the School Stylers were all there, but the more powerful Vatonage Stylers were nowhere to be found. Despite insisting that she didn't know anything about them, Kate was still taken for questioning by Solana. Dawn, Lucas and Barry all hoped Solana wouldn't be too hard on her.

Barry, in his usual way, was quick to process his emotions, however.

"Well, that was a romp," he said and yawned. "I'm kinda beat. Lucas, you wanna head back to the dorms? It's movie night and you promised we'd watch _Brycen-Man Saves Easter_!"

"Uh, yeah, that sounds good, I'll be with ya in a minute," Lucas said absentmindedly, noticing that Dawn was still in the classroom, staring out of the window with her arms folded.

As Barry left, Lucas walked over to Dawn, carefully trying to choose his wording. He took so long getting a word out that Dawn got to him first:

"Don't think this changes anything!" she told him harshly.

"I don't," Lucas admitted.

"But I was impressed with the way you handled it," Dawn admitted reluctantly. "You did good. And those were nice things you said about me. Was there some shady reason you decided to say them? You knew I was listening."

"I just thought it was appropriate, I didn't honestly think about how you'd react," Lucas said.

"Hm," Dawn just said. "Well, you better go to your movie. I have to get ready for tomorrow's tournament."

"Hey, Dawn," Lucas said suddenly.

Dawn turned to look at him. "What?"

Lucas was about to say something, then suddenly stopped, just smiled to himself. "You know what, I'll say it after this whole tournament rigamarole is over. Just be ready to talk then."

Dawn nodded and even managed a small smile. "I will."

 **~o~O~o~**

Though the drama at the Ranger School was coming to an end, Kris still wasn't satisfied. She knew there was more to the story, and that Kate couldn't have acted alone, even if that was Solana's official theory. Before the students stuck in the hall could rush back into the corridors and dorms, Kris quickly headed into the basement, where the science labs were.

Having an odd feeling that someone was following her the whole time, Kris finally turned to see at the door to the labs, noticing a girl in a red shirt quickly try to hide around a corner.

Kris sighed. "I saw you, you were at least two whole seconds too slow, come on!"

Lyra came out from hiding. Though her arm was still in a sling, she was otherwise fine, the school doctor having completely healed her Drapion poisoning, mostly thanks to Dawn's first aid.

"What are you doing?" Kris asked her exasperatedly.

"No, what are _you_ doing?!" Lyra wondered. "I figured what you were about to do-"

"Did you really?"

"Well… I made Iris tell what you were about to do," Lyra admitted. "But that's not the point! The thief issue has been solved! What makes you think otherwise?"

Kris showed Lyra the book she was carrying – the same book the thief had dropped during their run-in with Barry. It was titled ' _Preventing Running in Hallways_ '.

"No way!" Lyra said. "Mr. Kincaid?!"

"I didn't believe it either, but based on what Dawn told me, it just didn't add up," Kris pondered. "Those other Circle people seemed genuinely shocked to see that the thief was Kate. I dunno, it's just too… convenient."

"Well, I'm coming with you to find out!" Lyra insisted. "If he has more surprises like that Drapion in store, you could get hurt!"

"You already have," Kris pointed out. "If that happens, I'll just dodge. I have better peripherals anyway."

Lyra smiled. "Well, I'm still coming with you."

Kris shrugged. "Be my guest."

Kris and Lyra stepped into the science lab without knocking. The large combined lab and classroom was empty and the lights were out. However, all of the closets and drawers were open and random stuff was piled up on desks. The room was usually always tidy and neat, which was a first warning sign to Kris.

"I just can't believe it," Lyra said quietly. "He's the nicest teacher in the school. Sure, he could ease up on the hairspray, but apart from that, he's practically adored in here."

"Yeah, yeah, he's like the father I never had," Kris said sarcastically. "But I'm sure I could smell that hairspray when he ran by. It's the same odor I smell every time I come in here, or when the man walks by."

"But Kate was caught red-handed."

"And she just happened to have all that set up? Besides, if she was really going to burn herself and the Stylers, why hide the most powerful ones? That would – shh!"

There was loud banging coming from the teacher's office at the back of the lab. And indeed, before Kris and Lyra could run, Mr. Kincaid stormed into the lab, carrying a box full of stuff which he dropped in surprise seeing Kris and Lyra.

"You're not supposed to be in here!" Kincaid yelled at them harshly, before collecting himself. "I mean… classes are over for the day. You two should be preparing for tomorrow's tournament."

"Going somewhere?" Kris asked the teacher.

Kincaid laughed nervously and picked up the box. "Well, after the tournament, I'm going to take a short vacation. So, if you'll excuse me-"

"Not at all, in fact, I can help you pack," Kris said and threw the book on the desk next to Kincaid. "In fact, I think you forgot this."

Kincaid's eyes grew wide as he stared at the book. Then, dropping his box, Kincaid turned tail and ran towards the door leading to the basement. Kris and Lyra ran after him, down a flight of stairs and down a narrow, concrete corridor. As he got through the door leading to his private lab, he slammed it shut behind him. As Kris and Lyra caught up with him and opened the door, they were greeted by the sight of a locked, reinforced door with a sign saying 'KEEP OUT' in huge letters.

"Well I'll be damned," Lyra panted. "You were right. This is a first."

"Okay," Kris said to herself, ignoring Lyra. "I'm going in. Croc, come out!"

Kris let her Feraligatr out of its Poké Ball. Lyra was about to do the same, awkwardly taking the Poké Ball with her left hand, but Kris grabbed her by the wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Kris snapped. "You're injured! I'll take care of this."

"It's just my arm!" Lyra protested. "And it'll heal soon. I want to help you!"

Kris looked at Lyra carefully. "You sure you want to help?" she asked.

"Yes!"

"All right. Then the best way to help is to do _this_."

Kris poked Lyra's wounded arm, causing her to wince and yelp. This allowed Kris to push Lyra out and close the door behind in her face, locking it and leaving Kris and Croc in the small space between the two doors. While Lyra banged and yelled on the other side, Kris ignored her, instead telling Croc to "please open the reinforced door for her".

Croc did this by using Dynamic Punch at the lock, blowing it to pieces, the reinforced door opening with a gentle push.

The lab Kris entered next was small, with piles of tech everywhere: computers, devices, machine parts, blinking lights, chemicals – everything you'd think of when imagining an evil scientist's lair. A disheveled-looking kid in a lab coat with a blonde bowl cut was chained to a table. He stared in confusion at the two arrivals.

Meanwhile, Kincaid had managed to somehow discard his normal teacher clothes and put on the same black and purple robe the thief had worn – only now his puffy, blonde hair was clearly visible. Kincaid walked over to the boy attached to the table and unlocked his chains.

"Isaac!" he yelled. "Do your duty! Stop these invaders!"

"W-what?!" the boy yelled. "Well, um, all right, sir…"

Isaac meekly walked towards Kris and Croc, flinching when Croc exposed its teeth at him.

"Um, M-Mr. Kincaid's orders," he stuttered. "Y-you must be suh-stopped!"

Kris sighed. "We don't have time for this! Croc, would you please? But be gentle."

Kris could have sworn she saw Croc roll its eyes as it "gently" backhanded Isaac, sending the boy flying across the room. Swearing, Kincaid grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket and opened it, sending out a seven-foot tall, blue and purple bat-like Pokémon with large pincers that looked like they could crush through steel. Kris recognized it as Gliscor, the evolved form of Gligar. Kincaid raised his hand, making Kris stop Croc as well, though Croc wasn't happy to, as it was growling at the Gliscor.

Noticing the boxes full of Vatonage Stylers, Kris smiled.

"Pretty clever," she commended. "You ruined girl's promising life and got away scot-free with this priceless technology. And all for… what?"

"You wouldn't possibly understand!" Kincaid boasted. "The intricacies of our ingenious plans are-"

"You know what, I just realized," Kris interrupted, "I don't care. Croc, Aqua Tail!"

Roaring in delight, Croc lunged towards Gliscor, a stream of water spiraling around its tail. But Gliscor managed to swerve out of the way of Croc's predictable attack, Croc hitting the floor instead and knocking the box of Vatonage Stylers away.

"Poison Jab!" Kincaid ordered.

"Agility!" Kris countered.

Glowing, Croc managed to dodge the attack and compete with the Gliscor in speed, the two wrecking the lab as they circled around the room, knocking machinery and parts off shelves and tables on the floor. Kincaid knew when to fold 'em and quickly made a dash towards the glowing orange panel on the floor: a warp panel. Before Kris could stop him, Kincaid had disappeared in a flash of light, and as Kris reached the warp pad, the glowing had stopped. No doubt Kincaid had immediately deactivated the panel at the other end, wherever it was.

Gliscor was confused without Kincaid, so Kris quickly ordered an Ice Punch attack. The attack knocked the ground- and flying-type out with one hit. With Gliscor dealt with, Kris first checked the Vatonage Stylers, then headed to the downed kid with mushroom-shaped hair. Turned out he was still conscious, having just faked being knocked out.

"I didn't mean to!" he cried as soon as he realized Kincaid was gone. "He made me do it!"

"Calm down," Kris told him. "I saw the chains. What was happening here? Isaac, right?"

Isaac nodded, but looked too nervous to answer Kris' question, instead babbling on:

"I mean… I started out voluntarily! I'm a student here! Well, I was, I was supposed to graduate last year. I was Kincaid's lab assistant and he promised me a job at Altru! But then I… I found something I wasn't supposed to. And I was made Kincaid's slave! And they made me do awful things! I DIDN'T KNOW!"

Kris slapped Isaac in the face. Not that she thought it would necessarily help, but they always did that in the movies and he was getting on her nerves.

"Shut up, I'm not on your case, though you're making me think I should!" Kris yelled. "Just tell me everything you know. Why did Kincaid try to steal the Stylers? And how are those Circle people involved?"

Isaac just shook his head. "Nuh-uh," he said. "They brought in this new guy. Scarier than anyone I've ever seen. They threatened to send him after me if I've talked. I've gotta get outta here!"

Isaac pointed at Kris.

"You have to get me out!" he rambled. "Out of the Ranger Union! You have to guarantee my safety! Then I'll tell you what you need to know!"

Kris was getting irritated, but heard footsteps and noise outside the lab. Lyra must have alerted the other Rangers. Isaac was already on the verge of panic, and Kris needed him functional to get any info.

"Fine," she hissed. "But you better hide!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Altru Tower, Almia**_

Wes woke up oddly refreshed, the events of the previous day a haze. It took a while for him to realize that he was in a dark stone room, sleeping on the floor, with only some light pouring in through the narrow, barred window near the ceiling. His body ached, but he didn't feel tired at all. Hilda was also up in the same room, leaning against the wall and observing him.

"You took your time," she pointed out casually.

"…what happened?" Wes wondered. "I remember we were… fighting Dim Sun grunts…"

"Yeah, we did pretty decent, even you," Hilda remarked. "But there were too many. They took you down first and injected you, then did the same to me. They tranquilized us and put us here. They must have wanted us alive."

"Blake Hall needed some info about some Jirachi," Wes muttered. "Why does he think we know?"

Hilda contemplated her answer, but someone spoke up from the corner:

" _Did you say Jirachi_?!" they whispered in a rough voice.

A man in monk gear emerged from under some rags from the room's dark corner, Wes and Hilda having no idea that they weren't alone. The monk, with visible beard growth and looking like he had lost some weight, stumbled over to Wes and Hilda.

"The Circle's evil machinations have gotten to you too, have they?!" the monk ranted at them, suddenly grabbing a confused Wes' wrist and pulling up his sleeve. "Strange, where's your tattoo…"

"A tat would be pretty cool, but I don't have one yet," Wes muttered, just standing still uncomfortably as the monk inspected his arm. "What do you mean?"

The monk stared at Wes and Hilda for a while, then nodded sagely. "Ah, you don't know, then. Be fortunate you don't have what the Grand Master seeks."

"Is Blake Hall the 'Grand Master'?" Hilda asked.

"Hall? No, no, not at all," the monk sighed. "The Grand Master's tendrils reach so many regions. Hall is just on his payroll, overseeing things in the Ranger Union. It's not inaccurate to say he made a bargain with a devil to ensure profits for him and his company. The ones who call the shot are the Circle of the Torn World."

The monk pulled his sleeve and showed Wes and Hilda a tattoo on his shoulder. It was a circular symbol with six spikes protruding from it, colored dark purple, looking almost black in the dim lighting. Hilda frowned at the monk.

"So you're one of them too?" she asked him in a tone Wes knew always preceded violence.

"Was!" the monk cried out. "I started out with the best intentions! I served the Wise Trio in Johto until they approached me. I was transferred here to work under the Grand Master. But then I saw what they did to people who resisted their plans and spoke out… only to end up here. At least I've gotten to help people who suffered a similar fate. Look!"

The monk pointed at the pile of rags he had emerged from. Another man was also curled up in the corner, his stained lab coat clearly visible. He had clearly been there longer than the monk. He had gray hair, with thick eyebrows, beard and mustache. Carefully approaching the man, Wes compared him to the photo the Rangers of Wintown had given him before his mission. Even with the dreadful state the man was in, Wes could recognize him.

"Professor Hastings!" he gasped, then grinned. "What do you know, I actually got a mission done for once!"

"He was forced to work on a project for Team Dim Sun and the Circle," the monk explained, "then thrown here after he was done. They're probably waiting for him to crack and tell something about Jirachi."

"I keep hearing that name!" Wes groaned. "Some kind of Pokémon, according to Hall! Why does anyone think we know?"

"Jirachi is a mythical Pokémon that originates from a different planet, or most likely a different dimension, according to myths," the monk said. "It is said to have the power to grant a person's wish, whatever it may be. But even as of today, no scientist has been able to obtain conclusive proof about this Pokémon."

"Then why does he expect us to know?" Wes wondered.

"Perhaps," the monk suggested, "he assumed you would know about the annual Litleonid meteor shower."

Wes shrugged. "I might have heard about it."

"According to the calendars of the ancient Draconid peoples who were the original inhabitants of these lands, this year's Litleonid shower corresponds with the arrival of the Millennium Comet, which is said to be the vessel which Jirachi will use to land on Earth."

Wes and Hilda just stared at the monk, Wes shaking his head slightly.

" _And_?!" he asked.

"Perhaps Hall believes you can ascertain the location and time of Jirachi's landing. I would certainly understand if you'd wish to keep that info to yourself. You came looking for Hastings, and from what I've understood, he has recently researched Jirachi with a scientist from Hoenn."

"But why does he think we know, we've just been hired to find him!" Wes said.

"Well, maybe not you," the monk said politely, "but perhaps the young lady here does, considering she's been quiet this entire time."

Wes snorted. "Yeah, right. Hilda doesn't know any more than I do. Right, Hilda?"

Wes turned to look at Hilda, but his smile faded when Hilda didn't reply.

"…wrong, Hilda?" he said meekly.

"Wrong, Hilda," Hilda admitted. "But this scum isn't making me talk. Besides, if they didn't get what they wanted from Hastings, it's not like I have any more info. The Pokémon League doesn't know where and when this Jirachi is allegedly coming, and even if they did, they wouldn't tell me that. _And_ even if they would-"

Hilda turned to glare at the monk.

"-it's all a bunch of nonsense anyway. But info like this might inspire some dangerous nutjobs to take some harsh measures to get their hands on Jirachi. We can't have that."

"So," Wes said slowly, "the Pokémon League didn't send you here just to-"

"Just because they were worried about the old coot?" Hilda snorted. "Yeah, right. They sent me to retrieve Hastings' info about Jirachi. Obviously it would look good if I got the professor safely out as well but… eh."

"So you do know something," the monk said feverishly. "But then-"

Whatever the monk was going to say, it would have to wait as the doors of their cell were suddenly broken with great force as a man entered the room. It wasn't Hall and he wasn't wearing a Dim Sun uniform. It was a man wearing just pants and a white mask that obscured his face. Though he was fit, from his posture, size and white hair, it was apparent that he was quite old. Wes and Hilda prepared to fight, only to realize their Pokémon had been taken from them.

The monk immediately rushed towards the man, as if he hadn't been weakened by his prison stay at all, throwing himself at the man's feet.

"Sir!" the monk cried. "Please, please, I did what Mr. Hall asked! The girl, the girl over there, she knows! Please, please let me out already!"

The man in the mask stared (presumably) down at the monk, then raised his hand… to wag his finger accusingly. As the monk stared up at him, eyes wide with fright, the masked man suddenly grabbed him by his throat and tossed him across the room, Wes having to dodge as the man flew thirty feet through the air and hit the stone wall.

Even when armed with his fists, Wes still blocked the path between the masked man and professor Hastings – but he was unable to hide the fact that his legs were shaking. There was something… _off_ about the man. To Wes and Hilda's surprise, though, the man didn't make a move towards them. He simply reached for his mask and slowly pulled it off, revealing his face, causing an involuntary gasp from Wes, though Hilda had no idea why.

Before them stood the unmistakable figure of Pryce, former gym leader of Mahogany Town.

"But…" Wes muttered. "No. It can't be him."

"Who is this?" Hilda asked.

"You ever heard of the Masked Man?" Wes asked, Pryce just standing still at the doorway with his arms folded. "The man who terrorized Johto a while back with his freaky ice powers?"

" _Him_?!" Hilda said quietly. "But the mask was destroyed. And Pryce himself was, well…"

"Sucked into the Distortion World," Wes said. "And yet-"

"I'm standing here now, alive and well," Pryce boasted, having heard Wes and Hilda even across the large room. "It doesn't matter to me what you tell anyone. In fact, I look forward to it. Particularly if you bring this to the attention of dear Kris."

The man then vanished – or he had moved so quickly that he might as well have. Leaving Wes and Hilda dumbfounded. The door of the cell was open and no Team Dim Sun cronies were making their way in – like the tower was empty.

"We have to go warn Kris!" Wes yelled, the situation finally sinking in. There'd be time to question it later. "Let's go, we need to get to the Ranger School!"

"Don't bother," Hilda sighed. "I happen to know that tomorrow morning-" Hilda checked her watch. "-actually, _today_ , in less than eight hours, they'll have the Ranger Tournament at the Almia Castle. If I know Kris, she'll be there."

"Then let's get there!" Wes panicked. "Come on, before someone comes!"

"Um, Wes," Hilda said. "The mission?"

Hilda gestured at Professor Hastings. Realizing what she meant, Wes helped Hilda pick the professor up. Though suffered, Hastings looked conscious and mostly capable of standing on his own feet, muttering something incoherent as he was picked up.

"We'll drop him to the nearest hospital or Pokémon Center," Hilda assured, "and then head to the tournament. Whatever Hastings can tell us, it looks like it'll have to wait."

Wes nodded. As he and Hilda began to help Hastings out of the room, he heard Pryce's voice in his mind. While it was something he had to do, he wasn't looking forward to seeing Kris' face when he made his presence known, much less when he'd tell Kris about Pryce.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Ranger School**_

Though it was past midnight, Iris and Lyra stayed up in their dorm, sitting on Iris' bed in their pajamas as Iris quizzed Lyra about stuff she needed to know in tomorrow's tournament.

"The Ranger Union was founded fifty-eight years ago," Lyra listed off from memory while Iris checked the facts from her book. "The original site of the Ranger Union HQ was on a small island east of Vientown. It was founded by Chairperson Erma, Lamont Splendidocious and… Professor Hastings!"

"All correct!" Iris cheered, and she and Lyra high-fived. "You really _have_ studied! I mean, don't tell Kris I said this, but… you might actually win this!"

"Yeah, I think so too," Lyra said proudly. "I'd say Kris has already hogged enough spotlight for herself. I still can't believe she didn't take me to fight Kincaid!"

Iris glanced at Lyra's right arm, which was still bandaged. "You didn't hear?" she asked gently. "They covered up the whole thing. Officially, Kate is still taking the heat until they figure out how to deal with one of their teachers turning rogue. Or, you know, they catch him. Solana claimed to have found the Vatonage Stylers herself."

Lyra frowned. "So, then… why?"

"To make sure you don't get hurt, perhaps?"

Lyra scoffed. "I've known Kris longer than you. I doubt she cares that much."

But there was a hint of smile on Lyra's lips and her face was reddening. Trying to hide her own smile, Iris turned back to her book.

"So did you manage to tell her?" she asked Lyra. "Or even hint in that direction."

Lyra sighed. "Don't remind me. There's a million Beautiflies in my stomach when I even think about telling. I mean, maybe, if it wasn't for that thief, I might have had the guts, but… it's hard. We were friends for so long. And she's not even here and it's almost one in the morning! She can't be with that _Lunick_ again, can she?"

Iris was thinking on what to answer when loud rattling from Kris' cupboard alerted her. Confused, Iris went to open it, only to be greeted by a ball of yellow, dry Pokémon gasping for air and scattering in Iris' arms.

"Shrew!" Iris gasped. "I thought you were supposed to be in Summerland, with Kris' other Pokémon!"

"He can't answer you, Iris," Lyra pointed out.

Iris let Shrew off her arms, the Sandshrew nuzzling against her leg before going to greet Scorch, who was resting in a warm spot on some blankets next to Lyra's bed. The two Pokémon greeted each other with affectionate nuzzling, having actually known each other longer than Kris and Lyra had owned them.

"Sandshrew and Typhlosion are in the same egg group, right?" Iris asked, the thought suddenly occurring to her. "If Shrew's been here the whole time, have they-"

"Iris, please!" Lyra said quickly. "Scorch doesn't have time for that! She needs to be ready for the tournament!"

Just then, the door was opened, Shrew quickly hiding under Kris' bed. The arrival was Kris, although she was accompanied by two tall male students, who grunted and heaved as they carried a large wooden chest with her.

"Just bring it over here, next to my bed, thanks," Kris told the students. "Oh, hey guys, sorry I'm late," she greeted Iris and Lyra nonchalantly.

"What's in there?" Iris wondered, pointing at the chest.

"Oh, you know, gotta find room for all my clothes," Kris said and added a disconcerting fake laugh. "You know how much I love shopping and fashion and all that!"

"No you don't," Lyra pointed out, but the sounds of the students grunting as they put the chest down covered it.

"Thanks, guys," she told the students in a way she assumed wound sound flirty, "if there's _anything_ I could ever do-"

"Yeah, give us the money you promised and we'll be out," the other carrier said. "Please."

Kris sighed. "You'll get them tomorrow after I win the tournament. Now get out!"

As soon as the door was closed behind the two students, Shrew emerged from under Kris' bed and jumped into his owner's lap, rubbing its face against her chest.

"Shrew!" Kris scolded. "You couldn't wait in there for a few more minutes!"

"Has he been there the whole time?!" Iris wondered.

"Aww, come on, it's Shrew, I couldn't just leave him there, and besides, Froslass might pick on him!" Kris said defensively, holding Shrew close to her body. "He needs to be with me or he'll get antsy."

"School policy only allows keeping one Pokémon," Lyra pointed out, not condemning or anything, just stating the facts.

"Well, as soon as this tournament is over, I'm done caring about policy or rules," Kris said dismissively and knocked on the chest she had brought in. "You can come out now!"

Lyra's eyes widened and Iris literally fell off her bed in shock as the lid of the chest was opened and Isaac emerged out of it, also gasping for air. Kris was thankful that her source of information was so small.

"You're smuggling people in as well?!" Iris yelled. "Kris, this is some heavy stuff, I don't know if-"

"He was with Kincaid," Kris said bluntly. "He's going to be crashing in here for the night. We're going to keep him safe from both Team Dim Sun and overzealous freaks like Solana. And in return, he's going to tell us _everything_!"

"What do you need to know?" Iris wondered. "Shouldn't we focus on our investigations instead?"

"I have a feeling this Circle group is more than just a bunch of bored students who couldn't get into the karate club," Kris said, glaring at Isaac, who seemed to shrink even more under Kris' stare. "They might be linked to all this. Can you tell anything to us right now, Isaac?"

"Just one thing," Isaac muttered as he climbed out of the chest. "You best prepare for a war."


	6. The Fatal Tournament

**Chapter Six:** _ **The Fatal Tournament**_

 _ **Location: Ranger School, Almia**_

It was early morning, with most of the school's students fast asleep. The highly anticipated Ranger tournament would begin today, testing Rangers nationwide for their skills with the Capture Styler as well as their knowledge about Rangering… Ranger-being… Rang…

…about Ranger-related activities, the questions ranging from the history of the Ranger Union to best practices when using the Poké Assists and everything about nature, living in harmony with Pokémon and all that junk. Kris was convinced she had memorized as much as she could, but an air of restlessness was still filling Kris. It had nothing to do with the usual nervousness of getting up on stage and performing, but rather with what Kris had heard Isaac tell her last night.

This is why Kris sneaked out of her room in the morning to call someone she knew would answer her calls no matter what the time of day. Making sure no one was around, Kris chose the first number in her PokéGear's contact list and waited for someone to pick up.

Within seconds, the familiar, slightly nasally voice of professor Elm came from the other end, not at all disturbed by the early time, sounding as if he had been expecting Kris to call any minute:

" _Why, Kris_ ," Elm said cheerfully. " _What a lovely surprise_!"

"Sorry I haven't called in a while," Kris said quietly. "And sorry I won't have much time to talk right now, I have a favor to ask."

" _Certainly_!" Elm said. " _Can I just ask where you are_?"

"What do you know about the Ranger Union?"

" _Well, as a regional Pokémon professor, I can say without doubt that… that… there are Rangers in there?_ "

Kris answered with silence.

" _Sorry, I'm afraid my knowledge of the area is rather limited. But what on earth are you doing there_?"

"…I'm not even sure if I know at this point. But the gist of it is that I'm at the Ranger School in Almia and I need you to send me one of my Pokémon. As in right now. There's a working transporter in here, though I dunno if you can link to it-"

" _Kris, please, what do you take me for_?"

Kris smiled, then cursed quietly herself realizing that Elm couldn't see it.

" _Is everything alright with you, Kris_?"

Elm sounded legitimately concerned, and Kris wasn't sure how to answer. She wasn't in any danger at the moment, but the overwhelming feeling of dread she had suffered from since last night was only getting stronger by the moment. But instinctively, the answer just blasted its way out of her mouth:

"Fine," she just said. "Anyway, about the Pokémon…"

After the conversation was over, Kris put her PokéGear back in her pocket and turned around – only to almost scream when Isaac was standing right behind her, hands in his pocket and looking suspicious.

"Who were you talking to?!" he asked pointedly. "You're not gonna betray me, are you?"

"Sheesh, don't do that!" Kris admonished him. "I was getting everything ready. You told me to prepare for a fight."

"Right, right, that," Isaac muttered nervously, nodding while he spoke.

"I promised to protect you," Kris told the boy, feeling weird talking to someone even shorter than her, "but you gotta tell me something useful first. So far what you've told me was about Blake Hall, Altru and Team Dim Sun. Nothing about what they're doing, though."

Isaac was about to protest. "But-"

" _And_ ," Kris interrupted, "if you don't, I might just have to rat you out to Lunick. Or maybe Solana. She'd know how to make you spill something, at least."

Isaac glared at Kris, but gave in, sighing in resignation. Kris gestured at him to follow her back up to her dorm room. No one was out in the hallways yet, so Isaac could talk uninterrupted.

"Hall's plan was based on some scientist from Johto who worked with Team Rocket," Isaac explained, Kris listening intently. "As soon as Johto's champion had driven Team Rocket out of Mahogany Town, Altru sent a salvage team to pick up any technology that could be of use. That's how they constructed devices like the one you saw in the basement – they're capable of limited hypnosis of Pokémon using electromagnetic waves, on a much larger spectrum than the simple radio waves Team Rocket used. However, the machinery used in those devices was clunky. When I studied here, Kincaid chose me as his lab assistant, and without my knowledge, he made me build a simpler, more portable version of the device, but it still wasn't quite enough."

"Are you seriously suggesting you had no idea what you were building?" Kris asked, knowing full well who the scientist Isaac mentioned was.

"I was interested in his theories!" Isaac said defensively. "Regardless of who he worked for, Kincaid's a brilliant man, and when he told me he could get me a job at Altru, of course I was excited! I didn't know they'd basically make me a slave!"

Kris rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. So they did the same to Hastings?"

"Yes," Isaac said tensely. "They got him when he was on his way here from Fiore. Now he's being forced to modify Capture Stylers that Kincaid has stolen into mind-control devices, as well as supercharging them and giving them for his minions to use. That way even Top Rangers would be helpless against Team Dim Sun."

"So the plan was, what, make all the Pokémon in Almia their slaves?" Kris asked.

"All the Pokémon in the _whole Ranger Union_! And even beyond that. First they'd probably replace all of Altru's human employees with mindless Pokémon who'd gladly work themselves to death, only for them to bring a new batch in. That would definitely maximize Altru's profits as long as no one would ever know about it. The rest would probably be used to seize control of the Ranger Union, though I'm not sure if that's what Blake Hall really wanted. The orders came from even higher, though."

"From who?" Kris asked.

Isaac shook his head. "I'm not telling that until you guarantee my safety! But he's connected to those Circle freaks you mentioned."

"And that scary guy who made you finally call quits?"

Isaac gulped. "He… I… like I said, full guarantee of my safety!"

Kris sighed. As she arrived to her room, she essentially shoved Isaac inside. "Get in, you big baby," she grunted.

 **~o~O~o~**

As soon as the students had their breakfast, the buses arrived to take them to the site of the Ranger tournament: Hia Valley, a beautiful, snow-filled wide-open area, mostly fully preserved nature, between many tall mountains. Specifically, there was an area reserved for the competition in the courtyard of the ancient Almia Castle, now a snow-covered ruin, but once the center of the royal government of the Almia of yore. The courtyard had been mostly cleared of snow, with still allowing great views of the icy mountain around them.

Even if it was cold and snowy where they were and the tournament was held outside, it was still a beautiful, bright day, not a cloud in the sky and not a breeze of wind ruining the day. Kris, Lyra and the other contestants had gathered in the backroom of the stage set up in the center of the courtyard. The judges – principal Lamont, Dawn and Lunick – were talking amongst each other, along with the host of the tournament whose face Kris couldn't quite see.

Kris and Lyra mostly sat still awkwardly, trying to avoid looking at each other. After a moment of silence had passed and Lyra was certain that the other contestants weren't listening (Solana was doing stretches nearby, though both Kris and Lyra believed she was eavesdropping), Lyra leaned over close to Kris.

"So where's Isaac?" she whispered.

"Hiding in the girls' locker room," Kris muttered, staring at Solana to see any signs that she was listening.

Lyra nodded. "Nervous?"

Kris pondered it for a while. "Not about this, actually."

"Because you know you're not gonna win?" Lyra asked sincerely.

Kris frowned. Lyra's foot-in-mouth-comments were easy to ignore by now. Still, she didn't want her to get the last word.

"No," Kris said venomously. "I don't actually care about this tournament so much anymore. I just want it to be over so Isaac can tell me what he knows."

"So, you don't mind letting me win?" Lyra asked half-seriously. "Would keep the victory in New Bark Town, at least."

"Oh, I'm still kicking your ass," Kris remarked.

Noticing Kris was smiling, Lyra laughed a bit herself. Inching a bit closer to Kris, their legs touching as they sat next to each other, Lyra tried to gather the courage to say what she needed to say.

"By the way," she said, hoping to lead Kris to her preferred topic. "I saw Dawn and Lucas talking before the tournament. Like, talking, not yelling."

"Were they now," Kris said quietly.

"It was pretty clever of you to team them up when we were after the thief," Lyra continued. "You act all indifferent, but I think you care about them."

Kris snorted. "Nah," she said. "It's just easier if we have allies on our side who don't spend all their time bickering. Besides, I don't have time for all that straight people drama."

Lyra was blushing madly now, wondering if this was the right time to say what she really wanted – but the words got stuck in her throat every time.

 **~o~O~o~**

Meanwhile, outside, in the audience, Iris was there early to get a good seat, close, but not quite in the front row. Lucas and Barry were sitting next to her, unfortunately, but they were busy talking to each other so Iris could focus on reading the book the stranger called N had given her in Fiore: ' _Glossary of Mythical Pokémon_ '.

As she hadn't had time to read on the Pokémon before, Iris searched the section about Jirachi.

" _Originally appearing in Draconid legends, Jirachi is said to appear once every thousand years. Within the tags hanging from its head is the power to grant a person any wish they desire. But to approach this Pokémon and receive a tag, a person must sing to it in a voice of purity. Anyone attempting to do injustice with Jirachi's powers is punished with a rain of destructive light from the sky._ "

 _These old legends are hardcore_ , Iris thought.

"Is this seat taken?" someone asked to Iris' right, with Lucas and Barry to her left and an almost full row of empty seats to her right.

"Yeah, sure," Iris replied absentmindedly, focusing on her book.

But as she recognized the voice and the smiling if exhausted face of the person who sat next to her, Iris did a double-take, then leaped to hug the blue-coated, blonde-haired arrival.

" _Wes_!" Iris yelled, squeezing the man tightly. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"Easy, easy," Wes wheezed, prompting Iris to let go. "Sorry," he added with a smile. "I'm happy to see you too, but it's been a rough couple of days."

"Why are you here in Almia?!" Iris asked. "This is so great! Aww, I wish you would have been with us in the school, it could have been-"

"Sorry, Iris, I'll tell you everything I've done in a bit," Wes interrupted calmly, "but right now, and don't get the wrong idea or anything, I need to talk to Kris. There's something important going on!"

A little bemused by this comment, Iris nonetheless swallowed her disappointment.

"She's taking part in the tournament," she said, "but only contestants and staff are allowed in."

"Ah, well, I guess it can wait," said another voice, belonging to the woman who sat next to Wes. "The security here looks decent."

"Hilda!" Iris greeted, but didn't go for a hug this time.

"'Sup, chibi," Hilda said. "Anyway, look at all these Rangers. He isn't going to do anything now."

"Who?" Iris wondered.

Biting his lip and wondering how to answer the question, Wes' gaze drifted to the book Iris was reading. He squinted as he read the title.

"Whaddya know," he said. "Jirachi. Any particular reason you're readin' about it?"

Iris looked to her left to make sure Lucas and Barry were busy talking, then leaned closer to Wes.

"It's actually related to the prophecy we're investigating," Iris muttered. "Leaf provided some info about it."

"I've heard there's still more to it," Wes whispered. "What have you found out?"

Iris shrugged. "Nothing yet, as we kinda drifted away from our original plan. We couldn't find this scientist who was supposed to have some answers. Some guy called-"

"Professor Hastings?" Wes asked.

Iris stared at him, while Wes just laughed. "Looks like our investigations are thoroughly linked," he said, "well, they _were_. I found-"

Hilda gave Wes a sharp nudge in the rib with her elbow, making him wince.

" _We_ found him," Wes corrected himself. "He was being held prisoner by Team Dim Sun."

"Team Chinese Food?" iris wondered.

Wes tried not to grin. "Dim Sun's a local criminal gang. Same style, or lack of it, as Team Rocket. Well, except we just found out that Dim Sun might just be working for some mystical bugaboo people… Torn Circle or whatever."

"Circle of the Torn World!" Iris said excitedly, handing the brochure to Wes. "And I can't believe you found the professor. You're a real hero, Wes!"

Wes tried to act modest while Hilda just laughed cruelly.

"Where is he now?" Iris asked. "I'd really like to talk to Hastings!"

"Then wait no longer."

Iris, Wes and Hilda looked up at the trench coat –wearing stranger who had arrived, a large hat obscuring most of his face. The man quickly shoved Wes aside, sitting between him and Iris, slightly removing his hat to reveal his white beard, mustache and extremely visible eyebrows.

"Professor!" Wes gasped. "But you were supposed to be at the hospital!"

"Checked out for the day," Hastings said – he spoke _very_ fast. "Needed to see tournament. You!" he told Iris. "Wanted to discuss something?"

"Um…" Iris said. "Yes, wow, this is such an honor-"

"Forget the pleasantries!" Hastings said impatiently. "These two rescued me. Owe them a lot. Will answer any questions you might have."

"Feel free, Iris," Wes said casually and leaned back in his chair. "Imma sit back and think about what I'll buy with the reward I'll get for the prof's rescue."

"Right, Professor Hastings, I need to ask you about a certain prophecy," Iris said, beginning to explain everything that she knew.

Meanwhile, backstage, where the contestants awaited, Kris finally saw a glimpse of the man who would host the contest. He was dressed in a stylish blue suit that was casually open, had black hair long enough to cover his ears, glasses and dark eyes. The sight of him actually made Kris shudder and do a double-take.

"Crap!" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Lyra asked.

"That guy!" Kris said, pointing at the host. "It's him! It's Cheren! Remember him?"

"The guy who manipulated me into fighting Team Aqua back in Hoenn?" Lyra asked.

"And the guy who made me fight Team Galactic," Kris muttered, "and who threatened Wes' family unless he spied for him. To what end, I don't know, but he claimed to be a recruiter for powerful trainers…"

Cheren didn't seem to notice Kris or Lyra, but Kris was convinced that his being there wasn't a coincidence. Kris saw him exchange a few words with principal Lamont before disappearing into the dressing rooms, adjusting his tie and looking almost… nervous? Unusual for him, as he usually radiated an air of smug supremacy.

However, Lyra didn't care nearly as much about Cheren, instead biting her nails nervously as Lamont walked through the curtain to appear on stage, accompanied by thunderous applause.

"It's starting," Lyra said with a shiver.

Back in the audience, Iris and professor Hastings, as well as everyone else, stopped their chatter and began clapping as Lamont entered the stage, jovially accepting the applause with a warm smile, eventually waving to stop it.

"Thank you for this warm welcome!" Lamont said, speaking into the microphone. "In a few minutes, we will begin this year's Ranger Tournament! But before that, I'd like to say a few words. The Ranger Union kept yesterday's events at the Ranger School under wraps, but I regret to inform you that one of our own teachers, Mr. Kincaid, was in fact the culprit behind the Capture Styler theft yesterday!"

There were murmurs amongst the crowd, some shocked, others dismissing Lamont's claims, but Lamont pressed on:

"In more pleasant news, I am happy to inform you that Professor Hastings has been found and he's currently safe. However, as all coins have two sides, this revelation also comes with its shadow. We regret to inform you that the CEO of Altru Incorporated, Blake Hall, has been implicated in activities with Team Dim Sun and is presumably connected to the theft. I implore you to report any sightings you may see of Mr. Hall and anyone assumed to be connected to Team Dim Sun..."

As Lamont continued with a more positive introduction to the tournament, Professor Hastings leaned over to Iris:

"Fantastic orator, isn't he?" he whispered. "That's the part he's always handled better than me."

"You're still friends, right?" Iris asked the professor quietly. "Why don't you go talk to him, tell him you're okay in person?"

Hastings shook his head. "He's got enough on his mind with the tournament," he muttered. "Once this is done, I need to have a serious discussion with him and Erma. But at the moment, the most important thing is to tell you about the prophecy. I have so many things I want to talk about with you. I'm glad to finally have a chance to-"

Hastings suddenly fell silent as he noticed something unusual: a bright red dot moving over his chest and neck area. Curious about why he and Iris stopped talking, Hilda leaned over Wes to take a look, only to gasp in horror.

Before Hilda could even open her mouth to warn anyone, a small, white dart suddenly struck Hastings in the neck completely silently. The Professor let out a small shudder and attempted to reach for the dart to pull it out, but before that could happen, he collapsed on the floor and began twitching and gasping for air.

"SNIPER!" Hilda yelled. "Everybody get down! Find cover!"

What followed was outright panic as the audience began to pour out of their seats and scrambling desperately for cover, some even hiding under their chairs. Following Hilda's example, Iris, Wes, Lucas and Barry did the same. Rangers around the perimeter began to immediately take action, the two closest ones quickly picking up Hastings and carrying him to cover. Another Ranger took out his Capture Styler and began scanning the area for the sniper, but was quickly taken down as another dart was fired and struck him in the chest, forcing nearby Rangers to drag him to safety.

Screaming, chairs being tossed around, half of the crowd fleeing the castle in desperation – it was chaos. Having taken cover behind the podium on the stage, Lamont noticed the state of disarray and attempted to calm everyone down, but was quickly interrupted as men and women in dark uniforms emblazoned with purple logos emerged from every corner of the castle, some rappelling down the castle walls, others emerging from bushes and other unlikely hideouts. Armed with crossbows and some kind of energy weapons, the Dim Sun grunts, all of them wearing white mask on top of their usual uniforms, surrounded the tournament area, preventing anyone from escaping, as their leader suddenly emerged from the shadows and appeared on the stage, taking the podium. Two Dim Sun Grunts accompanied him, seizing Principal Lamont and holding him in place.

Iris recognized him immediately, even before he took off his white mask – it was Pryce.

"What's going on?" Iris whispered in panic. "That can't be… him?"

"It's him," Wes whispered back nervously. "I wanted to tell you and Kris about him, but I wanted to… wanted to…"

"What?"

"Wait for the right moment? I don't know! I'm sorry, I should have spoken to you sooner, but I honestly didn't expect him to come here!"

"Quiet," Hilda hissed at them.

Iris and Wes turned to look at Hilda, who was scanning the perimeter. Wes saw her take notice of the position of every Dim Sun Grunt, there being at least twelve of them, accompanied by several Machoke, Raticate and Rhyhorn, there being at least twice as much Pokémon as there were people.

Unmasking himself, Pryce caused many in the audience to gasp. The story of his attacks in Johto, particularly the dramatic events of the Silver Conference, had reached the Ranger Union as well, but the panicked whispering amongst the Rangers quickly ceased as Pryce raised his hand, smirking victoriously. You could hear a pin drop as everyone stared at him in fear and awe, wondering what he might do… and Pryce instead made a victory sign with his fingers.

"Thank you for this lovely reception!" Pryce said into the microphone. "We couldn't help but to notice this tournament, respectable as it is, lacked a certain something. It needs… entertainment!"

"Many of you," Pryce began, and as his gaze circled around the audience, Wes could swear he could see right through where he, Iris and Hilda were hiding, "clearly know who I am. And those who do, may be asking one question: how? And trust me, all of your questions will be answered tonight, but if, and only if, you bring the contestants out on the stage. In particular, I need to talk with a lovely young lady from Johto called Kris."

Iris had a hard time covering her heavy breathing as she stared at Pryce from her hiding place. Of course that was what he wanted – Kris was the last person Pryce laid eyes upon before he was sucked into the Distortion World, supposed to disappear for good. It all felt like a bad dream, something like this interrupting the serenity of the tournament – on the very last day Iris was supposed to spend in Almia, no less. Sure, she had encountered criminal gangs before, even had a run-in with Pryce himself on two occasions… but never had she been overpowered like this, with so many innocent lives on the line. Even though she had Haxorus with her, how much could it do before Pryce and Team Dim Sun would mercilessly take it down?

"If you fail to bring her forward," Pryce boomed, "I will kill one person here _every_ _ten_ _minutes_. Beginning..."

Pryce snapped his fingers and the two Dim Sun Grunts holding Lamont in place delivered the principal next to Pryce.

"...with Principal Lamont here," he finished. "A man of such prestige, adored by his students and other Rangers alike… it truly warms my heart. If you don't want to see your principal fall down puking his guts out like you dear Professor did, I suggest you bring me Kris. _NOW_!"

"We're not afraid of you, Masked Man," Lamont snapped at him.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Pryce turned to look at the principal, a condescending smile on his face.

"Foreigner or not, every person here is a part of the Ranger Union," Lamont said. "And I have sworn to protect each and every one of them, with my life if I have-"

"Fine," Pryce interrupted and put his hand on Lamont's chest.

It all happened in an instant, making it hard to see what was going on, but Lamont only had a look of shock on his face as a Pryce's hand emitted a blue glow, and just like that, Lamont's lips turned blue and his face turned pale as he collapsed on the floor.

Shrieks of panic erupted from all over the area, but the Dim Sun Grunts soon silenced it by firing their weapons in the air. Pryce turned to look at the crowd again.

"Change of plan!" he announced cheerfully. "Your principal wasn't co-operative, so instead, I will randomly kill one person here every ten minutes until _you bring me Kris_! YOU!"

Iris gasped. Pryce's bony finger was pointing directly at her, his piercing eyes definitely meeting hers. Despite panicked whispering from Wes, Iris crawled out of her hiding place and stood tall, staring back at the old man with determination.

"I never forget a face," Pryce said, the creepy smile on his face never fading. "You're the Unovan dragon girl, aren't you? Friend of Kris'? Why don't you run off backstage and go pick up your friend so we can have a chat. _I insist_."

Inhaling deeply, Iris walked briskly on stage, passing by Pryce as she made her way for the curtains. As she did, she suddenly almost jumped as Pryce's cold, clammy hand appeared on her shoulder, slightly touching her neck.

"Be quick about it, would you, dear?" he whispered in Iris' ear.

Shuddering, Iris ran behind the curtains and headed backstage.

There, the contestants, along with Lunick and Dawn, had all gathered in a bunch, listening to what Solana was telling them.

"Let us go!" a contestant yelled at Solana. "What's going on over there?!"

"Out of the question!" Solana yelled, hands on her hip in an authoritative pose. "It could be dangerous out there! My Rangers are around the perimeter, making sure nobody gets in or out!"

"Kris!" Iris yelled after she spotted in the crowd, running to the girl as everyone stared at her, then turned to look at Solana, who facepalmed.

"For Arceus' sake, _do your jobs_!" Solana yelled through the curtain.

"Iris!" Kris gasped as the girl ran to her and Lyra. "What's going on out there?!"

"No time to talk!" Iris said quickly, Kris and Lyra nervous by her panicked tone. "You have to get out there! I know you're not going to believe this, but… Pryce is there!"

Kris and Lyra glanced at each other.

"Yeah, you thought right," Kris remarked. "Seriously, Iris what is-"

"He's _there_!" Iris said grimly. "He's gonna kill someone unless you get there within five minutes."

Kris frowned. "You're not kidding, are you?"

Iris shook her head. "He killed Lamont," she said quietly.

Gesturing at Lunick to follow, Kris and Lyra went with Iris to take a peek behind the curtain. And indeed, there he was, marching around the stage with his arms folded, while everyone in the crowd was petrified in fear, contained by the Team Dim Sun grunts.

"That's him, all right," Lyra whispered. "I saw him on TV during the Silver Conference! We fought his goons at the Ilex Forest!"

"So that's the man you told me about, Kris," Lunick said quietly as he glared at Pryce. "For what he did to the principal… I'll eviscerate him!"

"You're the one who's going to get shredded if you try that," Kris muttered. "It's really him! I saw him get pulled through a portal! I saw him disappear! To a place where you don't come back from!"

"Well, he did," Iris whispered. "And he says unless you get there soon, he's going to kill another person."

As if to emphasize Iris' point, as he walked around the stage, Pryce suddenly yelled: "Eight minutes left, Kris! You better come out!"

The sound of Pryce's voice made Kris' stomach churn, causing her entire body to shudder. She could still feel the tingling in her arm from where Pryce had frozen it during their last encounter.

"I'm going in there," Kris said firmly as she and the others closed the curtain and retreated backstage. "I'll just have to check something out. Everyone else, just… stay here!"

"Are you insane?!" Lyra hissed. "Actually, don't answer that, 'cause everyone can see it! Don't do it, Kris, he'll kill _you_ instead!"

Kris shook her head. "He won't," she said simply. "He wants something from me. He would have come back here himself if he did."

"You're being calmer than I expected, Kris," Iris said quietly. "I thought you'd be a little more, um… triggered?"

"I know what I have to do," Kris said firmly. "But we have to minimize the damage. We can't get anyone out there out, but we can still get the contestants to safety. Lunick?"

"I'll handle it!" Lunick said immediately. "But I'll come back to you once it's done!"

"Good," Kris said. "Iris and Lyra-"

"We're not going with them if that's what you mean!" Lyra said impatiently.

Kris smiled. "I wasn't gonna ask. Instead, once I have Pryce distracted, you take care of his goons. Bring them down one by one, until there's nothing but him left. Once we get everyone out and Pryce isolated, we'll take him out."

"As in…?" Iris said hesitantly.

Kris nodded. "Permanent solution. I'm not gonna risk anyone else getting hurt 'cause of him."

Confident that the others would follow her instructions, Kris rushed to the women's locker rooms as fast as she could, ignoring the frantic questioning Solana tried to put her through as she ran past her. Her priority was finding Isaac, as Pryce or not, she wasn't going to let anything happen to him. Not because she particularly cared about the guy, but because she promised.

As he searched around for Isaac impatiently, she was surprised herself how calm she was. Just as Iris said, she wasn't traumatized by Pryce's appearance at all. In fact, she was extremely confident about what she had to do.

 _I am calm. I know what I'm doing. I'm very calm_.

With Isaac nowhere to be in found in the lockers, Kris stormed into the bathroom, but he wasn't there either. Kris was getting more impatient, feeling her hands sweating profusely.

 _I'm calm. I'm composed. I'm calm. I'm-_

Kris' mental mantra was suddenly broken as Kris had storm in a bathroom stall and throw up. Her knees buckled as she ejected her stomach contents in the toilet, her confidence seeming to leave with her.

 _I'm so dead_ , she thought.

"Gross!"

Kris shot up as Isaac emerged from the stall next to her… only someone was with him, holding him by the arm – Cheren.

"Hello, Kris," he said calmly, the smug smile still on his face even in this situation.

"I don't have time for you!" Kris snapped at him, wiping her mouth hastily as she spoke. "This is important. Let him go!"

"This man is wanted by the Ranger Union," Cheren said coldly, "and as a representative of the Unova Pokémon League, it is my duty to make sure he will end in the hands of the authorities."

"You bastard!"

"…is what I would like to say," Cheren finished his sentence. "But what's happening here now is more important than that. Do as you wish."

Cheren let go of Isaac, the scared boy trying to run but ending up in Kris' grip instead, though Kris kept staring at Cheren.

"This changes nothing," she said. "I still hate you."

Cheren just nodded. "Take care of things, Kris," he said calmly. "That's all I want."

Sparing no more time for Cheren, Kris dragged Isaac out of the bathroom, painfully aware of the clock ticking. Things weren't made any easier by Isaac muttering to himself in panic.

"I'm guessing Pryce is the scary guy you told me about?" Kris asked him, trying to snap him out of his frantic state – unsuccessfully.

"Oh my Arceus, we are so dead!" he rambled. "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm history, everything is going horribly wrong-"

"Shut up!" Kris hissed. "I'm not letting anything happen to you, didn't I already tell you?"

Kris dragged Isaac to a broom closet and shoved him there.

"Stay in hiding, lock yourself in and do not open the door for anyone who isn't me!" Kris told him. "Don't even think about running away! You still need to tell me everything you know once this is over!"

Isaac was about to open his mouth in protest, but Kris closed the door on him, hoping he'd be smart enough not to flee. There was still a little time left, allowing Kris to put her plan into motion.

 **~o~O~o~**

With everything arranged, Kris took a deep breath, and despite every cell in her body telling her not to, she walked through the curtain and on stage.

Everyone turned to look at her as she appeared, but Kris kept her gaze on Pryce. A wide grin appeared on the tall, muscular, elderly man's face as he noticed Kris, spreading his arms for her as if he was expecting a hug. Kris stayed still, tuning out everything besides him, focusing on every movement he made.

"Kris!" Pryce said warmly. "You made it! This isn't a party without you!"

"I'm here," Kris told him plainly, keeping her eyes on him, the two staring each other down across the stage. "What do you want?"

"How cold, Kris, if you don't mind me saying," Pryce remarked. "Aren't you in the least bit curious about how I'm here?"

Kris didn't say anything. She kept her hands squeezed in fists, afraid she'd show much they were shaking otherwise.

"The Distortion World is a terrible place," Pryce said. "It's not habitable for humans, not for a prolonged stay. And the corner of that dimension I ended up in was filled with the most hideous torture imaginable. A lesser man would have been shattered by it."

"And yet," Pryce continued calmly, like he and Kris were making pleasant small-talk, "here I am. I didn't spend my life training my mind and body for nothing, of course, but that's not the only factor. What kept my mind intact was knowing that one day, no matter when it would come, I'd find a way out, to pay you back for what you did to me. As it so happened, someone else with the power to bring me back wanted the same thing."

"So that's what this is about?" Kris asked him. "Revenge?"

Pryce smiled, cocking his head on the side. "You did send me there, after all."

"You sent yourself there!" Kris protested. "You made a powerful, all-encompassing evil and then tried to betray it. You only have yourself to blame."

"That's where you're wrong," Pryce said. "My plan was foolproof. I only needed my hands on the GS Ball and everything would have been fine. But you had to play a hero and get in my way. Don't get me wrong, I don't hold that against you. What I do find unforgivable is the idea that you believed yourself to have defeated me – and that you accomplished something."

Making sure Pryce stayed still, Kris briefly glanced at the body nearby – it was undoubtedly Principal Lamont, a layer of crystallized ice over his chest.

"Now you're asking yourself," Pryce said, "how I managed that? The mask that gave me my powers is gone, destroyed by your Feraligatr. The moment when it shattered as I still wore it was one of the most painful moments of my life… up to that point. But if anything, I should be grateful. As pieces of the mask fused into my body and I writhed in the whirlpool of agony in the Distortion World, I was able to harness the mask's powers. They're much more limited, of course… but I'm sure you'll find they still get the job done."

"Job?" Kris asked in disgust. "So you had me brought out here on stage to kill me and show it to everyone here?"

Pryce chuckled. "You have it all wrong," he said cheerfully. "Why would I waste my time on something like that, when I can achieve something greater. I can show you the meaninglessness of your efforts, the unstoppable force that you're fighting against. I am here to challenge you – to a Pokémon battle!"

Kris frowned. "A battle?" she asked. "That's it? I've already beaten you in a battle before, remember? Though I doubt you were fighting at full strength back then."

"During the gym battle?" Pryce asked in amusement and shrugged. "Who's to say? Ultimately the outcome of that battle didn't matter. But I suppose you're partially correct. Back then, you were fighting Pryce."

"And now?"

"The man called Pryce had been dying for a long time, and he died for good as he was sucked into the Distortion World. The only thing that remained was the Masked Man. Do you accept my challenge?"

"I guess I don't have a choice," Kris said, slowly reaching for a Poké Ball on her belt. "Do you mind if we limit it to one Pokémon?"

"Not at all, I appreciate the efficiency," Pryce said, also going for a Poké Ball. "And the rest of you, enjoy the show! Anyone attempting to interfere, well… I don't think I need to tell you. Mamoswine, go!"

The Pokémon Pryce sent out was massive, eight foot in height, nearly seven hundred pounds in weight, covered in thick brown fur and with massive tusks. Meanwhile, Kris sent out the Pokémon that Professor Elm had just sent her that morning: her Snorlax. Fortunately, Snorlax didn't come out sleeping with food spilling out of its mouth, but on two legs, arms spread, ready for battle.

"Ladies first," Pryce remarked.

"Snorlax, Body Slam!" Kris ordered.

Even if Mamoswine was big, Snorlax's mass was even more impressive. With unusual dexterity for its species, Snorlax jumped into the air, attempting to land right on Mamoswine's head. Pryce was able to command his Pokémon with a mere hand gesture, and no doubt thanks to his powers, Mamoswine didn't even have to look at him. Raising its tusks, Mamoswine caught Snorlax mid-jump, holding it in place.

"Rollout!" Kris ordered.

Snorlax curled itself into a ball and began spinning, hitting Mamoswine in the face and releasing itself from the ice-type's grip. As Snorlax gained momentum and tried to spin at Mamoswine again, the ice-type responded with Ice Shard, pummeling Snorlax with sharp, cold pellets and stopping its attack.

"Rest!" Kris yelled.

Snorlax suddenly collapsed on the floor and began to sleep. Mamoswine charged and began to rush at Snorlax, probably preparing for a Take Down attack, but Kris retaliated with Snore. Mamoswine stopped on its tracks, the attack making it flinch.

Meanwhile, backstage, a full evacuation was in process. Solana reluctantly accepted the help of Lunick and Dawn in evacuating the contestants to safety before Pryce's goons would find their way there. Eventually, by the time two Dim Sun Grunts sneaked behind the curtains to see if there were people there, the place was practically empty.

By the time the Dim Sun Grunts reached the locker rooms, Kris' plan came into action without even needing her participation. Hiding in Kris' locker, Shrew noticed the Dim Sun Grunts and quickly tapped the button on the Poké Ball it was holding.

The Dim Sun Grunts didn't even have time to scream in terror as a Feraligatr suddenly emerged out of the locker, grabbed the two grunts and knocked their heads together, knocking both out in an instant. The Machoke that was with them wasn't very motivated, attempting to flee, but Shrew managed to dig under the floorboards and cause a crack in the floor which Machoke got stuck into, allowing Croc to knock out the fighting-type with a well-aimed Hydro Pump attack.

Seeing the Dim Sun Grunts go down, Iris and Lyra also emerged from hiding and quickly took off the grunts' uniforms and changed into them, hiding their faces with the white masks and Iris putting extra effort in tucking away her large amount of hair.

While Croc and Shrew went into hiding, Iris and Lyra infiltrated the ranks of the Dim Sun Grunts, none of the others paying too much attention as they all stared at the ongoing battle between Kris and Pryce. Even with Snorlax's great power, Mamoswine seemed to have infinite amounts of stamina, getting back after every blow, while Snorlax had to occasionally resort to resting to regain its strength.

Iris tried her best to get Hilda's attention, finally doing so by establishing eye contact and briefly taking off her mask. Hilda nodded at her and began whispering to Wes, hopefully relaying her plan to him. Whatever that plan was, Iris had no idea, as hers was pretty much as simple as it could get.

As Iris and Lyra stood next to Team Dim Sun grunts, on Iris' signal, they released their Pokémon. Completely taken by surprise, a Dim Sun Grunt's Rhyhorn was immediately grabbed and wrestled to the ground by Iris' Haxorus while Lyra's Typhlosion blasted a Raticate away with its Flamethrower. Iris and Lyra grabbed the confused Dim Sun Grunt in command of the Pokémon and swiftly disarmed him and took him out.

When another Dim Sun Grunt aimed his weapon at the girls, Hilda took action herself, climbing out from her hideout and swiftly disarming the grunt by kicking his weapon away, then punching the grunt right in the solar plexus. As the grunt was disoriented, Hilda soon turned to the next one. Not wanting to be outdone, Wes summoned his Ninetales and attacked another grunt that was attacking Hilda.

Soon enough, a fight broke loose. Two rear guard Dim Sun grunts were taken out by Lunick and his Sceptile, the two having returned after getting most of the people backstage out. While Hilda fought grunts with her Tang Soo Do skills, Lunick overwhelmed them with pure physical power, with ferocious punches and tackles, the sheer aggression of Lunick actually intimidating the grunts.

And on the stage, Pryce was too busy with his battle against Kris to mind the fact that his troops were in complete disarray. Many of the Rangers who had been rendered helpless began assisting people in the crowds out of there, the Dim Sun Grunts unable to do anything about it as Iris, Lyra, Wes, Hilda and Lunick kept them occupied.

But as she casually threw another grunt on the ground and twisted their arm behind their back, Hilda saw a flash of light at a nearby tower. Realizing what it meant, she swiftly rolled away as another poison dart hit where she had just been. Cursing to herself, Hilda took cover under the chairs, where Lucas and Barry were still hiding.

"Hey, it's the scary Unovan lady," Lucas told Barry casually. "Hi, we met before, I'm Lucas and this is-"

"THERE'S NO TIME FOR THAT!" Barry yelled at him before turning to Hilda. "What the hell is going on?! Where are those darts coming from?"

"Sniper at the north tower," Hilda told them. "We have to get a warning out to people. Especially Kris – this might have been Pryce's plan all along. Even if he loses, he probably instructed that sniper to take Kris out as soon as they have a clear aim."

"So whoever has to give that warning has to go on stage?" Barry asked incredulously. "With..." He nodded in Pryce's direction. "With _that_ guy?!"

Lucas nodded. "I'll do it."

"Hell no!" Barry hissed at him. "You saw what he did to the principal!"

"I have a plan," Lucas said. "Not the best plan, but, uh, it might work..."

"Luc, it's _you_ , of course it's not going to work!"

"Shut up!" Hilda told Barry. "You think you can handle it?" she asked Lucas.

Lucas gulped. "I, uh… it might?"

"Then do it, but don't get shot or something," Hilda said roughly. "And you!" she told Barry. "Make yourself useful and help out with the evacuation, and tell Lunick about the sniper! He looks like the only other person here who can be useful."

"Gladly," Barry muttered and began crawling his way to Lunick, still remaining under the chairs.

As he slowly progressed, Barry looked at the chaos around him. Hilda had gone back to fighting, taking out a Dim Sun Grunt threatening Iris with her bare hands, while her Emboar was wrestling with two Machoke at the same time. Croc was stomping around, using whatever weapons it could get its hands on and throwing it at the Dim Sun's Pokémon while even Shrew was helping out its friends, digging holes in the ground for the enemy Pokémon to stumble on, making them easy prey for Croc's teeth and claws. Though it had a hungry look in its eyes, Croc showed wonderful self-restraint in not eating the humans or Pokémon it was pummeling.

Barry briefly stopped to look behind him. Lucas' masterful plan was to crawl to the edge of the stage, hiding from Pryce's view, apparently intending to sneak close to where Kris was standing to relay his warning. Cursing Lucas' stupidity, Barry kept on crawling towards Lunick.

 _Arceus, don't let anything happen to him_ , Barry thought. _Or else! I know where you live!_

Finally making his way to the end of the seats, Barry stood up, covered his head with his hands and made a run for Lunick, who was sitting on top of a Dim Sun Grunt and strangling him viciously while yelling at him.

"How _dare_ you come here and hurt these people!" he yelled almost insanely. "This is a place of peace! A sanctuary! You monsters!"

"Sheesh, dude, calm down, he's no longer a threat!" Barry told him, Lunick snapping out of his frenzy. "You pretty much went medieval on him… which kinda makes sense, actually."

"What do you want?" Lunick asked Barry, letting go of his victim, who plopped on the ground half-unconsciously.

"Uh… sniper on that tower!" Barry pointed vaguely at what he assumed to be the north tower. "North one or something! Also warn Kris! Something like that."

Not quite understanding, Lunick still nodded and grabbed hold of a nearby Ranger who was helping the last straggling civilians get away from danger.

"You take care of these criminals," Lunick told him, "and help anyone still here to get out. Underst-"

The Ranger was suddenly struck by another poison dart before he could answer Lunick. Although Lunick pulled it out quickly, the Ranger was already showing signs of poisoning, making Lunick groan in frustration.

"You!" he told Barry, who was getting tired of being addressed as such. "Get him out of there! A medic is nearby, treating Hastings and the other wounded."

"I'll help!"

Dawn, her Empoleon by her side, had surprisingly returned, despite having made it out safe and sound with everyone else who was backstage. Lunick just nodded at her and rushed towards the stage to go help Kris.

"Empoleon, stay here and take out any Dim Sun Grunts trying to hurt any of our friends!" Dawn instructed her large water-type, who squawked as an answer. "Good, and you!" she told Barry.

"I have a name!" Barry protested.

"Grab his head and I'll grab his legs," Dawn said in a snippy tone, grabbing hold of the poisoned Ranger. "Well, let's move it!"

"Fine, princess," Barry grumbled. "If you can handle breaking a nail over it or something..."

"I took medic training, you commoner!" Dawn retorted as she and Barry carried the wounded Ranger to safety.

But Dawn shrieked in terror before Barry could reply as another dart from the sniper's weapon suddenly struck the ground right next to her. The scream alerted Lucas, who had just made his way to the stage and was just about to warn Kris. Hearing Dawn's scream, Lucas pushed caution out of the window and stood upright on a battlefield to call out for her:

"Dawn!" he yelled, though he wasn't even heard through the sounds of battle around them. "Get down, he'll see you!"

"Lucas!" Kris hissed, his sudden appearance next to her interrupting her battle. " _You_ get down!"

Realizing what he had done, Lucas turned to look at Kris with an apologetic smile on his face, though he still didn't duck. Pryce had also taken notice of him.

"Oh," he asked, raising his hand to get his Mamoswine to pause the battle. "Friend of yours?"

Kris realized what Pryce was about to do a fraction of a second too late. What happened next felt like a slow-motion film: a blue glow suddenly came from the palm of Pryce's hand, Pryce extending it towards Lucas. Then, he fired a small piece of crystal-like ice towards Lucas. The confused smile on his face faltered only slightly as the sharp ice shard hit him in the chest. Then, with barely any visible injury on him, Lucas fell on the ground and didn't get up.

"There," Pryce said as he turned back to look at a horrified Kris. "Now he won't break your concentration anymore."

"SNORLAX!" Kris yelled shakily. "BRICK BREAK!"

Caught off-guard, Pryce's Mamoswine took a blow right to its head, getting dizzy and being easy prey for Snorlax's next attack, a Mega Punch. Despite the beating it took, Mamoswine was still miraculously up, though clearly losing as it couldn't land any kind of counterattack.

Wes, whose Umbreon managed to KO a Dim Sun Grunt's Raticate, was the first besides Kris to notice Lucas had fallen, everyone else too buys battling and Dawn and Lucas having already returned to carrying the wounded Ranger away. As Wes stumbled upon Lucas' body, his eyes widening as he saw it, Lunick also arrived.

"Kris!" he yelled. "We have to-"

"Get down!" Wes snapped and ducked behind the stage, pulling Lunick down with him.

Fortunately, Pryce was too busy trying to keep his Mamoswine from getting overwhelmed to pay attention to Wes and Lunick. Kris, however, had noticed them.

"You two," she told them quietly, her eyes focused on the battle between Snorlax and Mamoswine, "you know where the sniper is, right?"

"Yeah, we came to warn you about it," Lunick said. "He's at the north tower."

"Get there," Kris said simply. "Stop this before anyone else gets hurt."

"Wait, both of us?" Wes asked. "Um, you mean, me and him?"

" _Go_!"

"Right!" Lunick said eagerly. "Come on!" he told Wes. "Wesley, wasn't it?"

"Wes, actually," Wes grumbled but followed Lunick anyway.

 **~o~O~o~**

Taking a route from outside the sniper's firing angle, Wes and Lunick had managed to get into the north tower without getting spotted. As they climbed the stairs up to the top, though, Wes made it pretty clear how unhappy he was about the arrangements.

"I had the sniper pegged, you know," he grumbled at Lunick. "As soon as I was done there I could have taken them out myself!"

"What are you talking about?" Lunick wondered. "I came here because the lady asked me to!"

"Why don't you get a fedora while you're at it..."

"A what?"

"Never mind," Wes grumbled. "But what's the deal with you and Kris, anyway? Aren't you a little old for her? Like, three hundred years too old or something?"

"Deal?" Lunick wondered. "We haven't made one. Though I wish to know her better, of course, but so far we haven't… what's it to you, anyway? You're not her cousin are you?"

"I… what?!"

"No, you look much too different to be related," Lunick thought as the two climbed on. "Then you're not betrothed to her or anything?"

"...that's disgusting!" Wes snapped. "And no, I'm just her friend. And as such, I wanna make sure she doesn't associate with any weirdos. Weren't you a part of Team Aqua?"

"Shh!"

Lunick and Wes had arrived to the top floor, stopping at the entrance to the circular room. There, by the window, a man dressed in a black and purple cloak was crouched, a large rifle in his hands, focused on the events of the courtyard below. His blonde, curly, puffy hair could be seen from miles away.

"All right, here's what we should do," Wes whispered to Lunick softly. "I cover the rear, and you sneak up on him and-"

"MR. KINCAID!"

Wes rolled his eyes as Lunick ignored his advice and marched towards the former Ranger School instructor, who turned around in shock, almost dropping his rifle.

"I almost couldn't believe it when they said you were the thief," Lunick said indignantly. "But to actually see you do this kind of monstrosity in person… you must be punished!"

"Drapion!" Kincaid yelled and suddenly threw out a Poké Ball.

Kincaid's monstrous purple scorpion Pokémon materialized in front of Wes and Lunick. Though Wes managed to roll out of the way, Lunick was grabbed by the Drapion's powerful claws.

As Wes turned to yell at him, asking if he was okay, he soon realized there was no point: Lunick was barely fazed by being attacked by an enormous poison-type Pokémon, managing to land a swift kick right near the Drapion's eye, making it release its grip. As soon as Lunick's feet touched the ground, he sent out his Sceptile without hesitation, focusing on taking the enemy Pokémon out.

Turning around to see if Wes and Lunick had been torn apart by the Drapion by now, Kincaid's smug expression turned to shock as he saw Wes suddenly approach him. Before Kincaid could say anything, Wes smacked the rifle out of his hands, sending it flying out of the window while kneeing the former teacher in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. With the man incapacitated, Wes grabbed him by his collar and hoisted on the windowsill, his head outside the tower.

"I think you've done enough damage for one day," Wes snarled at him, "but there's still a miniscule change you can undo some of it if you talk right now."

"You don't scare me!" Kincaid protested, though his voice was several octaves higher than before. "I would never betray the Grand MasAHH!"

Wes retaliated by pushing Kincaid even further outside, barely holding onto him by his cape as half of the ex-teacher's body hung outside the tower. There was at least an eight-story drop down to the rocky floor of the castle courtyard.

"Okay, okay, okay, I was just joking!" Kincaid babbled nervously. "Who cares about Team Dim Sun, am I right? Ranger Union forever and all that, heh..."

"Then start talking!" Wes shouted at the man. "Who is the Grand Master?!"

"Okay, I'll tell ya, but it ain't gonna be simple, my info might not even help you!" Kincaid prattled. "Okay, so, he goes by many names..."

Meanwhile, after rattling the Drapion with a Screech attack, Sceptile was ready to finish it off with an X-Scissor, knocking the poison-type out. Thanking it for a job well done, Lunick turned to look at Wes, only to gasp in horror at what he saw: the two apparently wrestling on the windowsill, about to fall off.

"Don't worry, Wesley!" Lunick yelled and charged at them. "I'll help you!"

Wes didn't even have time to for a comeback as Lunick suddenly rushed at him, grabbed Kincaid's legs and threw the teacher out of the window. Both Wes and Lunick stared at the falling man with stunned expressions before Wes turned to glare at Lunick.

"Gee, thanks a lot!"

 **~o~O~o~**

Meanwhile, back on the courtyard, the civilians had gotten out, Iris and Lyra had noticed what happened to Lucas and moved his body out of sight before Dawn and Barry came back while Hilda and the Rangers who could still walk finished rounding up the last Dim Sun Grunts, half of them having fled and the other half having been beaten and forced to surrender.

Back on the stage, Mamoswine attempted to finish things off with a Horn Attack charge, but Kris anticipated the move and ordered Snorlax to use Counter. With great ferocity for such a gentle species, Snorlax grabbed the exhausted Mamoswine by its tusks and flipped it over, hurtling the Pokémon on its back and finally knocking it out.

Pryce, unable to hide his disappointment over the battle's outcome, still tried to get one last quip off. Kris wasn't going to allow that, however, and ordered Snorlax to grab Pryce. Taken aback and unable to retort with his powers, Pryce was suddenly grabbed in a strong bear hug by the perennially smiling Pokémon. Struggling in the Snorlax's grip, his arms locked on his sides, Pryce turned to sneer at Kris.

"Well, you got me," he said, still managing a smile in his situation. "What now?"

"You know full well what now," Kris said coldly. Her face was red and glistening with sweat after the tough battle, while her eyes were red and moist. "You've killed way too many people to get out of this one alive, Pryce."

"I knew you'd say that," Pryce grunted, even managing a weak laugh, as he found it harder to breath in Snorlax's grasp. "But in the end, you'll let me go and try to hand me to the authorities, I'll escape and the same thing happens again. You'll have to see all of your friends die one by one until you finally have the guts to kill me with your own two hands."

"No," Kris said bluntly. "I've changed."

Pryce snorted. "Humans don't change. If they could, Giratina wouldn't even be a threat, and I would have never gotten to this point. Like it or not, the weakness of the human species is what allows me to continue doing whatever I want. And even if you kill me now, it won't mean a thing. There will be more."

"It will mean something," Kris said. "It will make sure that nothing like this happens again. Your team has been defeated once again, and once we cut the beast's head, it won't rise again. So..."

Kris smiled cruelly at the man struggling in Snorlax's grasp. "...any last words?"

As Kris and Pryce exchanged words, Hilda saw what was happening. Knowing what she had to do, Hilda was about to rush on the stage, but was suddenly stopped as a figure clad in a black jumpsuit and a face-obscuring white mask suddenly appeared in front of her, as if appearing out of nowhere. Hilda just laughed and cracked her knuckles.

"Pretty impressive, I must have missed one of you," she told the mysterious figure. "But unless you can't tell, your team is finished and your boss looks pretty done as well, so maybe you should just lay on the ground and surrender."

The figure made no such thing, just standing completely still with one hand on their hips and one hand going through their curly blonde hair, as if to mock Hilda. Shrugging, Hilda pulled her fist back and was about to punch the figure… but missed as the black-clad figure leaped out of the way with the skill of an Olympic gymnast.

"Hey!" Hilda yelled. "Emboar, come over here!" she yelled at her Pokémon who was busy piling up the unconscious Pokémon of the defeated Dim Sun grunts. "Stop that snooty-ass oxygen thief!"

Emboar grunted in approval and tried to block the path of the black-clad figure. Unable to proceed, the figure instead pulled something from their pocket: a black-petaled flower. Having heard the reports about an assassination attempt in Fiore, Hilda suddenly realized what was going on.

"Emboar!" she yelled at her Pokémon. "Look o-"

But the mystery figure had already managed to graze the Emboar with their flower, electrocuting the poor Pokémon and knocking it out with one shot – a human being would not have survived that blast.

Kris noticed what was going on too, but was too late to stop the figure, who quickly made their way on stage to stab Snorlax in the arm with their tulip. Snorlax was big enough to survive the voltage mostly unharmed, but still roared in pain and let go of Pryce. Released, Pryce immediately grabbed the black-clad figure with one hand while making the other glow. Kris could do nothing but watch as Pryce slammed his hand on the stage floor, suddenly creating a powerful blizzard.

For a few seconds, Kris saw nothing but snow as the small localized blizzard swept through the stage. But even through the wind and the panicked screams of the Rangers, Kris could hear Pryce's voice whisper something in her ear:

"I told you, Kris," he said. "I don't want to kill you. I want to _destroy_ you."

Kris turned around, but didn't see a thing – and in a few seconds, the blizzard disappeared as quickly as it had started, leaving a pile of snow on the stage and a group of dumbfounded Rangers yelling in confusion, wondering where Pryce and the mysterious figure had disappeared.

Realizing there was only one way they could have escaped through without being seen, Kris quickly rushed backstage. But as she arrived to the broom closet where she had left Isaac, she could see her efforts having gone to waste: the mushroom-haired kid's body could be seen just outside the closet, a layer of ice over his chest just like with Principal Lamont.

The sight of this made Kris collapse on her knees. The last thing Kris had told him was that she'd take care of him, that nothing would happen to him. How terrified Isaac must have been, hiding in the closet, hearing the sounds of battle all the way backstage without being able to do a thing about it. And yet, even though he could have escaped, he didn't… was he honoring the promise he made to Kris? Or was he just too scared? Now Kris would never know, or would she find out anything she needed to know about Jirachi, the prophecy, or anything else.

 _Mostly anything…_

Kris suddenly realized there was something hanging on Isaac's neck. It looked like an ordinary necklace, but Kris didn't remember him wearing it before. It was shaped like a Poké Ball, and it didn't look like something important enough to wear when being chased by a homicidal lunatic. Not like an amulet or anything.

And, as Kris realized when she pulled the two halves of the necklace apart, it wasn't. It was a flash drive, having just avoided getting frozen by Pryce's attack. Being in a hurry and probably too old to understand technology, Pryce probably wouldn't have noticed it. It was clear Isaac was a threat only because of what he knew… so maybe this was his way of passing the info on to Kris?

Pocketing the flash drive, Kris glanced at Isaac. His eyes were wide open in shock, a confused look on his face. With a heavy sigh, Kris reached over to gently close his eyes. As much as it hurt, Kris didn't feel particularly feel sad now, as the words Pryce had spoken had replaced the sorrow with an overwhelming amount of dread. How many besides Isaac and Lucas would have to go?

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Ranger Union HQ, Almia**_

The halls of the Ranger Union's pristine HQ hadn't been so lively in ages as they were filled with victims of Pryce's and Team Dim Sun's attack. The students and staff had returned to the Ranger School, with the exception of Dawn, Barry and Lunick. Rangers all over were reeling over the death of Principal Lamont, while the news kept updating on the status of professor Hastings, who had ended up in a coma due to the poison's effects and his advanced age.

As unpleasant as it was, Kris saw it her duty to break the news to Dawn and Barry, who reacted with varying degrees of shock. Barry went went trough the first three stages of grief with lighting-speed, fittingly enough. It wasn't until after half an hour of arguing that he finally believed what happened, which was followed by a tearful rant at everyone involved, before Barry finally disappeared to argue with the medical personnel that they could do their jobs better to still revive Lucas.

Dawn's reaction worried Kris even more. There were no tears and not that much shock, either. Before they could even properly talk, Dawn had left. Later, Kris heard from Lunick that Dawn had resigned her post at the Ranger School and was heading home to Sinnoh. Though she didn't want to say it out loud, Kris believed it would be the best.

Kris hung with Iris, Lyra, Wes, Lunick and Hilda in the reception area of the Ranger Union HQ, watching people dash by and hearing bits and pieces of news. Team Dim Sun was effectively done, all of its members who hadn't participated in the attack either surrendering or getting arrested in droves. Altru Inc's future looked uncertain with Blake Hall on the run and Rangers nationwide began a frantic search for Pryce and the blonde-haired assassin, though Kris doubted they would find either of them.

Trying to break the depressing mood, Wes decided to speak up after a long bout of silence.

"Iris," he said carefully, "are you okay? You seem a bit off?"

Iris bit her lip. "Kris," she said gently. "I need to talk to you. I-"

" _Iris_!"

Drayden, the gym leader of Opelucid City, had arrived into the Ranger Union HQ. Iris had told Kris about him, but she hadn't seen the man herself yet – the first thing Kris thought was that Arceus had a played a prank when creating this man's seemingly upside-down beard that looked like it could chomp your face off.

"I heard the news!" Drayden said as he ran to Iris, who stood up. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything is good," Iris said absentmindedly. " _I'm_ just fine."

Drayden nodded in understanding and didn't pressure Iris any further. "I've delivered your luggage from the Ranger School to the plane. It departs to Opelucid soon. Have you finished everything?"

"Whoa, wait, what?!" Kris shouted and stood up. "Who do you think you are, old creep, kidnapping girls in broad daylight?!"

"Kris, calm down," Iris told her. "I… I'm going back to Unova. It's time to assume my duties. I'm the new gym leader, starting officially from next Monday."

"But..."

A wave of emotions surged through Kris. Try as she did, she couldn't remember the last time she had traveled without her. It had to be many months ago, still back in Sinnoh, but even then the two had at least been in the same region. And now Iris would just leave, without even telling her?

All the bad things Kris was about to yell at Iris vanished, though, when she thought about what Pryce had said. And about what happened to Lucas.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Iris mumbled awkwardly as she stared at her feet. "I was ashamed to. I know we made a promise, that we were supposed to look into the prophecy and Jirachi and all that, but-"

Kris interrupted Iris with a big, almost rib-breaking hug. Her eyes in tears, Iris' initial confusion turned to contentment as she responded to the hug, which lasted much longer than Kris was used to, especially in a public place, but for once in her life, she didn't care.

As the two finally released each other, Kris smiled at Iris and wiped her eyes.

"Let me know how your gym leading goes," Kris said. "Don't give badges to any snot-nosed kids who walk in! If you don't become the toughest leader of the region, I'll personally come in and whoop your butt!"

Iris laughed. "We'll keep in touch," she said. "And no matter what happens, we'll see each other soon. I'll make sure of it!"

With an emotional hug with Lyra, Wes and even a surprised Lunick (who had been going for a handshake), Iris finally departed the Union with Drayden, waving furiously until she finally walked out of the door. Once Iris was gone, Lyra stood up and stretched.

"Where are _you_ going?" Kris asked her, her tone a bit more hostile than she intended, though Lyra didn't pick up on it.

"Oh, to the school to pick up my stuff," Lyra replied casually. "I think I've seen enough of the Ranger Union. I don't know where I'll go next, maybe finally take that tour of Unova I was meaning to do… but first things first, I'm going home to New Bark, see how my parents are doing, and if they've been feeding Marill right."

"You still taking care of that thing?" Kris asked with a scoff, actually managing a smile when she remembered the clumsy little Pokémon that tended to run off. "I thought it was Ethan's?"

"Yeah, but since he's run off who knows where to work on his training, thank goodness, he dumped it on our family," Lyra said. "Which is all good, it's practically been our family pet anyway since he never takes care of it."

Lyra looked at the crowds of Rangers running around, an oddly serious look on her face.

"I would stay here a bit longer," she said, "I mean, there's a big graduation party coming up soon, but… I'm not cut out to be a Ranger. And I don't want to stay here for too long. Not after what happened to that Lucas guy. It's a terrible thing. He seemed OK."

"Once again, you've mastered stating the obvious," Kris muttered under her breath.

"So you're gonna stay?" Lyra asked her. "You don't… want to come home to New Bark with me?"

Kris looked at Lyra. There was still a lot of tension (which Lyra seemed eager to ignore) and Kris hadn't still gone back to considering Lyra her best friend like she had before. Still, Kris didn't wish any ill on her, and thinking about the danger she would be in if she traveled with her… it made her stomach hurt.

"I need to investigate something still," Kris said. "But yeah, I'll go at least visit home soon."

"Okay, good," Lyra said awkwardly as she licked her lips and shifted her weight back and forth. "Maybe, once we're both there and settled, we could… hang out or something?"

The question seemed weird to Kris for some reason. Probably because she and Lyra hadn't really "hung out" in almost three years.

"Sure," Kris said tensely. "Why not?"

Lyra smiled and said her awkward goodbyes to Kris and the others before leaving. So this just left Kris with Lunick… and Wes, whose presence Kris was still confused by. It was the same thing with Hilda, but she had gone somewhere after she had gotten a call.

"Well, uh, what about you?" Kris asked Lunick. "Gonna go back to the school? Or maybe back to Fiore? The Rangers seem to like you."

"I would hope so," Lunick remarked quietly. "But now, with the principal gone, I feel like my time in the school has passed. And perhaps my time as a Ranger entirely."

"So," Kris said hopefully, her face lighting up, "do you want to travel… with me?"

Lunick turned to smile at Kris. "I was hoping you'd ask. Of course, I accept. But where? To your hometown?"

"Not in a while," Kris said. "I kind of… lied back there. Don't get on my case!" she snapped at Lunick defensively. "I'll get there some day, but my investigation isn't over yet. Too bad my best clue is in a coma."

Wes cleared his throat.

"I wasn't gonna ask _you_ anything," Kris told him.

"Oh, I think you will," Wes said smugly as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was a map, though of what, Kris couldn't tell.

"Hastings and Iris managed to exchange words before the incident," Wes said and gave the map to Kris. "Iris knew she would have to leave in a hurry, so she gave that to me. Good thing I'm so dependable, right?"

"Shut up," Kris told him offhandedly as she read the map. "But before you do… what is this?"

"Map of the Orre region, my humble home," Wes said. "Did you know that everything we know about this prophecy comes from translated texts recovered from ancient ruins. The Ruins of Alph in Johto is one place, of course. But those ruins exist all over the place, in Hoenn, the Sevii Islands… and in Orre, too."

"Yes, good find!" Kris said, forgetting to be annoyed at Wes. "So that's where we'll go! Maybe find those ruins and-"

"Maybe you ought to let me finish there, Krissy," Wes said obnoxiously. "This is nothing secret, it's public knowledge in the academic world. And the researchers at Orre's Pokémon HQ Laboratory have already dug up everything."

"Then why am I even talking to you?"

"Because, a scientist from Hoenn is currently visiting Orre, and he was supposed to meet up with Hastings," Wes said. "Turns out he's been looking into this for quite some time… and you've even met him before. Saved him from a little bit of trouble with Team Magma."

Kris gasped. "Professor Cozmo?! I'd totally forgotten about him! Yeah, he could have some info."

"And it just so happens that Cozmo is visiting the very place I grew up, the Pokémon HQ Laboratory in west Orre," Wes said. "So, I promised Iris I'd take you there – and everyone else who wants to come, I guess," he frowned at Lunick.

Kris hesitated as she read the map. Annoying as Wes could be, he had still proven that he wasn't a bad guy at heart. And even if he turned out to be, Kris also knew she wouldn't hesitate to beat his face in.

"Fine," she accepted. "So the three of us will go to Orre."

"Yes!" Wes cheered. "All right, I can show you my hood! It's great! Unless you like paved roads and public safety, of course..."

"And I'll make sure you get there!"

Kris, Wes and Lunick looked up at Hilda, who had apparently been listening in for a while.

"But before that," she said, "there's someone who wants to talk to you."

Behind Hilda were two people. Solana, who looked grumpier than ever, and an old woman walking with a cane she was escorting: Chairperson Erma.

"You!" Solana told Kris harshly. "For whatever reason, the honorable Chairperson wishes to talk to you, so stand at attention to your betters, you-"

"That's enough, Solana, don't be rude now, you know her name," Erma told Solana and leaned on her cane, smiling warmly at Kris. "In the name of the Ranger Union, I came to thank you, Kris. You fought very bravely against that man. Lamont was right in accepting you and your friends into the school."

Kris couldn't face Erma as she talked – she reminded her of her grandmother. "I'm sorry about the principal," she muttered. "And Hastings."

Erma nodded somberly. "It's a terrible thing," she said seriously. "Those two are my closest friends. But I knew both of them would also never back down when someone would threaten the Ranger Union. I hope to do right to preserve Lamont's memory, and that Hastings will recover soon."

"However," Erma continued, "what saddens me far more is the loss of young, promising Rangers. Your friend Lucas was very brave and the students at the Ranger School spoke well of him. Isaac's ability as a Technician was also praised. It's a terrible tragedy."

Kris just nodded, unable to think of anything to say.

"Still, the danger is over now, and we owe that to you, and your friends," Erma said. "Everyone else who were hit by those poisonous darts will make a full recovery and our Rangers are working around the clock to make sure Pryce doesn't leave the Ranger Union. We'll apprehend him and bring him to justice. As for you… for your actions, I'm afraid I can't give you too much of a reward at the moment, much as I'd want to. However, after talking to Hilda here, we've made sure that wherever you need to go from the Union, we'll secure you free passage."

"Thank you, ma'am," Kris said sincerely, while Erma just nodded.

"And as a personal favor," the Chairperson continued, "if you ever need help, you can call on me and the Ranger Union, anytime. We're all in your debt."

As Kris and Erma shook hands, Kris felt a bit of warmth in her chest that finally seemed to break the bleakness that had persisted for hours. She may have lost a friend and Pryce may have gotten away, but today, for the first time in a long time, Kris felt like she made a difference.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Fiore Temple, Sekra Mountain Range, Fiore**_

In the temple claimed by the Circle of the Torn World, Pryce meditated in a lotus position, completely ignoring the fuss around him as Circle members in brown robes ran around, checking every part of the temple to make it secure, all afraid that the Ranger Union would find out they were harboring a dangerous criminal. The Grand Master was particularly peeved as he walked to Pryce.

"I know you've been through some hard times," the Grand Master told Pryce, "but I believe my instructions were clear: kill the New Barkian girl. Why did you challenge her to a battle, in that situation, no less?! She was at your mercy!"

"I believed it wouldn't have been honorable," Pryce simply said. "Isn't that one of the key parts in your little organization's ethos?"

The Grand Master rolled his eyes dramatically. "Screw that!" he said. "The Ranger Union is on to us now! And what's worse, with that girl still alive, she could have information that might come back to doom us all! Who knows what that geek kid told her? How can you be so calm?!"

"Because we won," Pryce remarked casually.

The Grand Master spread his arms. " _How_ ," he wailed, "can you call this a win?!"

Pryce stood up and grabbed an apple from his pocket. He began to munch on it casually as he leaned against a pillar, finally answering after swallowing a bite.

"Look at the facts," he said. "I took out two thirds of the most important people in the Ranger Union, ensuring you can take them over quickly when the time comes. Isaac and Kincaid are both dealt with and I sent a certain trusted individual after Hall. She's never failed a mission, so no doubt she'll be bringing Hall's head, ponytail and all, in your lap soon enough. There's no one left who knows anything important about your little club!"

"No one but the girl!"

"Ah, dear Kris," Pryce said wistfully. "You should have seen the battle, she was on _fire_!"

The Grand Master frowned at Pryce, who just laughed.

"Calm down," Pryce said and continued to eat his apple. "I know her better than you. No doubt she's heading to Orre next."

"Good, we have people there taking care of a project – which _you're_ not included in!" the Grand Master shouted.

Pryce shrugged.

"Instead," the Grand Master continued, "you'll be taking care of the final stage of our operation in Kanto. And remember your place!" he added. "I brought you here, I lifted you out of hell – and I have the power to send you back!"

Pryce bowed at the Grand Master. "Your wish is my command, sir," he said, voice oozing with sarcasm.


	7. Hoopa Confined

**Chapter Seven: "** _ **Hoopa Confined**_ **"**

 _ **Location: Ranger Union Airport, Almia**_

Kris, Wes and Lunick sat on the benches of the busy Ranger Union Airport, waiting for Hilda to arrange their flight to Orre. As they sat in silence, mostly ignored by the people rushing back and forward, Kris pondered the words Pryce had spoken to her.

Pryce said he'd _destroy_ her. And yesterday, it had become clear what he meant. Lucas and the others would probably not be the last casualties in his efforts. Iris and Lyra had fortunately left and Pryce didn't know about them, but everyone else with Kris was most likely a target – yet Wes, Lunick and even Hilda had no qualms about traveling with her. Kris wondered if they understood the danger they were in, but she didn't exactly know how to phrase the news.

 _Hey, guys, traveling with me is kind of like walking around in a hat made of concrete – someone gives you a little push and you're history._

 _But please don't go 'cause I'm scared crapless of what might happen._

Still, as the others kept reminding her, Kris was safe now. Sure, Pryce had gotten past the security in the tournament, but this was the Union's largest airport. And Team Dim Sun was effectively gone. Everyone there had seen Pryce's face, which was currently plastered in posters all across the airport and visible on the TV screens every time there was a news broadcast. He was the most wanted man in the Ranger Union… which most likely meant he had skipped the country, and could now be almost anywhere.

 _No_ , Kris thought, _don't think about it so much. They'll capture him and subdue him, and that's it._

Kris managed to get some reprieve from her thoughts as Hilda sauntered over to them, looking frustrated.

"I can't believe it!" she huffed. "I used all my contacts, tried intimidation, flattery, everything, but it can't be helped – there are no flights going to Orre in the near future. Damn your region sucks, Wes!"

"Hey!" Wes protested. "I mean, it's true, but you can't say it!"

"Are you all right?" Lunick asked Kris.

Kris turned to look at Lunick while Wes and Hilda were busy bickering. Would he really understand? Lunick wasn't there when Kris faced the Pryce on Mt. Silver, nor had he heard what Pryce had told her before fleeing.

"I'm good, considering," Kris lied. "I just wanna get back to business. When we get to Orre, we'll use Hastings' info and start really digging into this prophecy thing. Who knows, maybe I'll get to catch some new Pokémon too."

Wes snorted, Kris turning to glare at him.

"What?!"

"Didn't we talk about this before, Krissy?" Wes said mockingly. "There are no wild Pokémon in Orre. Or, in the rare case when they _do_ appear, it's either in designated PokéSpots where there's a couple dozen other wannabe trainers with their eyes on the prize or they're stragglers that are soon caught by bounty hunters and the like."

"Such as you," Lunick pointed out.

Wes shrugged. "Eh, it's a living."

Kris sighed. "Well, maybe I'll get to participate in the local Pokémon League, then…"

Wes groaned awkwardly.

"Oh, come on!" Kris yelled at him. "Your region really _does_ suck!"

"Well, they do hold the occasional tournament," Wes said defensively.

"I'm _so_ over tournaments," Kris sighed.

"Anyway, while we think about this, I need to tell you three something," Hilda said. "I-"

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but to overhear!"

Kris, Wes, Lunick and Hilda turned to look at the man who had suddenly arrived: a short, rotund, pleasantly smiling man, probably in his late fifties or early sixties. He was mostly bald except for his mustache and tufts of spiky gray hair protruding from both sides of his head. He was wearing a fancy suit with a red jacket and blue pants.

 _I'm going to call him Mr. Moneybags_ , Kris thought.

"My name is Es Cade," the man introduced himself, handing out fancy cards to everyone. "I'm the mayor of Phenac City."

"The capital city of Orre," Wes remarked as he read the card.

"Exactly, and I can tell from your accent that you're Orrean, young man," Es Cade said. "And as for _you_ , young lady," he told Kris, "I happened to be watching the Ranger tournament. I saw you battle against the madman who attacked us. For that, I'd say everyone present owes you a great debt. Ms. Erma informed me of your intentions of heading to Orre, and for that, I have something for you and your entourage…"

Mayor Es Cade handed Kris an envelope. Carefully opening it while eying the mayor suspiciously the whole time, Kris pulled out four plane tickets.

"My personal jet is departing towards Phenac City soon, so you won't find it in any publicly scheduled flights," Es Cade informed. "There are four available seats if you're interested. I'd be honored to have you fly with my other esteemed passengers."

"But not you yourself?" Hilda asked him suspiciously.

"Alas, there are still affairs I must see to here in Almia," Es Cade said. "Once my plane has dropped you off, it will return for me. But I'd be honored to invite you for dinner during your stay in Phenac!"

"Thanks, Mr. Mayor," Kris said smoothly. "We'll, uh, think about it and be in touch."

"Of course!" Es Cade said cheerfully and bowed. "My number is in the card. Excuse me."

As the jolly mayor walked away, Kris gestured at the others to come closer, as if they were discussing state secrets.

"What do you think?" she asked. "I don't buy that. There are people out there who want to hurt us. Boxing us into a private plan is a great way to do that, I'd say!"

"Kris, you're even paler than usual," Lunick remarked, "and you're sweating. Are you sure you're not just being paranoid? I know what happened yesterday might have, what's the word… rattled you?"

" _Rattled_?!"

"That's not the word I was seeking, then," Lunick muttered.

"Wes, you know something about this Es Cade guy, right?" Kris snapped.

"Sorry, Kris," Wes said with a shrug. "I don't follow politics or current event much. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but a ride on a private jet to Orre? Sign me up, even if it is charity from some rich douche!"

"I sort of agree with Kris," Hilda pondered, "but it's also a good deal. What troubled me is that he's not flying it himself…"

"Exactly!" Kris practically shouted.

"I'll look into it, there's still time before that plane leaves," Hilda said. "You three stay put and don't do anything stupid, I'll make sure we're not heading into a trap."

As Hilda left, Lunick put his hand on Kris' shoulder reassuringly.

"See, she's on the case," he said gently. "I haven't actually been on these machines before. This should be fun!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Mayor Es Cade's plane, in flight above Almia**_

"This isn't fun at all," Lunick groaned as he lifted his head from the brown paper bag he had been buried in for the last thirty minutes.

Completely surprising Kris, every little detail Hilda had inspected had turned out to be clear. Kris and company were not the only passengers, as the plane was also carrying dignitaries, Es Cade's staff members, a prestigious string quartet and a four-member rock band Wes seemed to know but refused to talk about and that he kept his eyes on the entire flight. Kris had also called Erma, and indeed gotten confirmation that Erma and Es Cade had spoken about arranging the flight.

On top of that, Hilda hadn't noticed any sabotage as she spied on the plane and had even personally roughed up the pilots and flight attendants for any suspicious information, coming up with nothing. So, reluctantly, Kris had agreed to get on the plane. However, for the first thirty minutes anyway, the flight went by in silence. As Kris was chewing on her nails nervously on her seat, Lunick couldn't bear open to his mouth due to nausea. On the benches opposite to the two, Wes kept staring at the loud-mouthed Almian rock band and Hilda, the only one who appeared completely calm, kept staring out of the window.

It was Hilda who was the first to speak up, gesturing at the others to lean in closer as well.

"I think it's about time I told you what's up," she said quietly, "no one is paying any attention to us anyway, and from what I can tell, this place isn't wiretapped. Still, I'll keep it general enough just in case."

"Enough with the secrecy, Hilda!" Kris snapped. "People are dying here, this is serious."

"That's why I'm doing this," Hilda said grimly. "First of all, a confession. Don't get all 'how could you' and 'I'm never trusting you again' or some of that crap on me, but… the Pokémon League isn't who I'm working for now. Mostly, anyway."

Kris, Wes and Lunick just stared at Hilda, waiting for her to continue. She certainly seemed to enjoy how all eyes were on her.

"I was sent by an organization that recruits powerful trainers who've proven their abilities," Hilda said. "An organization that aims to fight threats that normal people can't deal with. Our name is pretty much irrelevant, but the official title is 'Extranormal Operations', or EXO."

"I like BTS better," Kris remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, I've told them to reconsider the name several times, but the point is," Hilda said quickly, "that the threat that people like Pryce pose is exactly our caliber. Don't think you guys or those show-offs from the Legendary Pokémon Society are the only people aware of Giratina's influence in this world. Ever since the Masked Man appeared in Johto, we've known who he got his power from, and we've seen it time and time again, with Latias, Cyrus and now again with Pryce and these Circle-jerks."

"What's your point?" Wes asked.

Hilda rolled her eyes and looked at Kris. "I hope you're not as dense as Wesley here," she told her. "I'm saying, we're looking for people to join us, and we want someone who's shown us they've got what it takes. Like you."

Kris frowned, the things that Hilda was talking about making her remember something.

"Cheren told me something similar," she said as she frowned at Hilda. "He said he was also recruiting trainers."

"I'm sure he was, he's the one who originally got me this job," Hilda said tensely. "We haven't talked to each other in a while and our friendship has kinda soured over the years, but I'm still grateful to him. That said, he probably had his own interests in mind when he was trying to get you."

"And you don't?" Wes asked incredulously.

Hilda shrugged. "I don't have any particular stake in this. I'm doing this 'cause it's my job now. But if you want my personal opinion, Kris would fit right in. She's already pretty good. With our training, she could be great."

"Don't even consider it, Kris!" Wes said, leaning closer to the contemplating Kris. "You already know what a dirtbag Cheren is, and if _she's_ working for the same people as he is-"

"Cheren has already been punished for being a selfish prick," Hilda interrupted. "And you didn't even let me finish. Kris isn't the only one we're interested in."

Wes scoffed and laughed darkly. "Yeah, sure, I'll get right back to you about that," he said in contempt. "Seriously, the one time I've worked on a case with the Pokémon League people, I got nearly killed."

"I'm confused," Lunick said. "So is she working for the League or not?"

Wes just grumbled something for an answer, but Kris tried her best to explain:

"The Pokémon League is controlled by the Pokémon Association, which is the main government that oversees most of the world's regions. Basically, almost every basic eight-gym, four-Elites, one-Champion region, plus a few others. And apparently the people Hilda works for are at least as high as that, if not even higher."

"There are layers and even more layers of secretive groups who pull the real strings behind the Pokémon Association," Wes said. "And don't look at me like that!" he barked at Lunick, who didn't seem to buy it. "I'm not some loony with a tinfoil hat, I've seen how they operate!"

"What purpose would a hat made of tin serve?" Lunick asked sincerely, making Wes groan.

"We're interested in you as well, Lunick," Hilda said. "I've seen your stuff many times over when we were fighting Team Aqua, Team Galactic and now Team Dim Sun. You're not only a skilled trainer, but your combat skills are just what we need."

"He's going to be punching evil Pokémon now?" Kris wondered.

"The EXO program doesn't just make great trainers," Hilda said proudly, "it molds people into fighters, tacticians – warriors, you could say. And combat is just one side of us. We also do extensive research and development, but every facet of our operations has the same end: to defeat powerful forces who seek our destruction. Forces like Giratina and its minions."

"So you've also been… molded?" Lunick asked carefully.

Hilda smiled. "I was pretty badass before that, of course," she said with as much modesty as she was capable of. "But yeah, after the Navel Rock incident, they began training me to make sure I wouldn't repeat my mistakes. I owe them a lot."

"I don't know what you think, Kris," Lunick said, "but to me, this sounds amazing. It sounds like the chance for all of us to become similar warriors that still existed in my time."

"Hey, there's plenty of 'em still left here, even without some shadowy government programs!" Wes protested. "Don't act so high and mighty just 'cause you're 300 years old!"

"Wes!" Kris snapped, causing Wes to fall awkwardly silent. "Hilda, I need more info before I can tell you anything," she said. "The three of us are the only people you've scouted, then?"

Hilda laughed. "Aww, worried you're less special, Kris?" she asked mockingly, annoying Kris. "Of course you're not. In fact, I only asked time traveler boy here 'cause two of your more interesting friends-"

"Hey!" Lunick protested.

"-already left," Hilda continued like she hadn't been interrupted. "And if I can help it, I'll still try to get Iris and Lyra to join-"

" _Lyra_ too?!" Kris hissed indignantly. "Why is she so special?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but has she not been there every time you've fought against the forces of evil or whatever?"

"Well, you're wrong!" Kris said. "She wasn't with me on Mt. Silver running for my life from Pryce. She wasn't almost drowned by Team Aqua. She didn't join us during our first trip to fight Cyrus on Mt. Silver. And she bailed on us way too many times-"

"And she also saved your life once," Hilda said. "I've been paying attention."

Kris rubbed her forehead, a headache striking her. Hiding her face, she began to contemplate. The prophecies talked extensively about a possible successor to the legacy of Champion Red. And after everything she had done and experienced, she _really_ wanted that successor to be her.

And _not_ Lyra.

"Of course," Hilda continued, "if you're interested in joining, you still need to do something to prove your worth."

"What?!" Wes scoffed. "Even me? You know, _if_ I even wanted to join."

"Especially you, Wes," Hilda said, "but _especially_ especially you, Kris. We've taken the liberty of organizing another test for you. As for what it is, you'll see when we get to Orre."

The spiky-haired guitarist of the band Wes had been watching got up from his seat, heading to the front of the plane. Without a word, Wes got up and followed him. Kris didn't particularly care what he was doing, but as she didn't want him to cause trouble, she followed him.

And it was good she did, because at the entrance to the cockpit, Wes had grabbed the guitarist and smashed him against the wall.

"Okay, little Billy, start talking!" Wes snarled at him. "What are you and your band doing here? You hijacking this thing? You plan to take hostages? _Tell me_!"

"Get off me, man!" the guitarist complained and tried to shake himself loose. "We saw you on the plane, but we didn't want to say anything, 'cause it'd be, you know, awkward-"

"You almost killed me!"

"Like I said, awkward."

"What on earth are you doing?!" Kris cried, scaring Wes so much that he let go of Billy. "Have you lost it completely?"

"Kris, you don't understand!" Wes said quickly. "He and his band are ex-criminals!"

"You can't go accusing people of that because of your own insecurity issues, dude!" Kris said. "I knew that attitude was compensating for something..."

"Nah, it's true, we are," Billy said casually. "I think it makes our music more edgy, y'know. Like, we're down with the kids and stuff!"

"Oh," Kris said bemusedly. "Well… okay, keep up the good work. Though I gotta remind you that you're an ex-criminal, too, Wes!"

"I know," Wes sighed. "But these four are up to something! I knew trusting that massive mayor was a mistake!"

"We're up to nothing!" Billy protested. "Except good vibes and grooves, of course! We're sworn off our life of crime for good! We were invited by Mayor Es Cade to do a gig in Phenac City. He must have heard about how awesome our music is from Mr. Hall."

"Why were you going to the cockpit?" Kris asked the guitarist.

"Well, to thank Hall, of course!" Billy said like it was obvious. "By the way, it's pretty bogus that he gets to sit in there and catch the coolest view, I've never been in a plane before and I didn't even get a window seat!"

Kris and Wes glanced at each other. "Billy," Wes said slowly, "are you saying Blake Hall is in there, right now?"

 _Ca-chink_!

"Right under your noses, in fact," a cold, smooth voice said.

Blake Hall, the middle aged Altru CEO with long black hair on a ponytail and pretty darn awesome sunglasses covering his eyes, stood behind Kris, Wes and Billy, having sneaked out of the cockpit, wielding an energy weapon similar to the one the Dim Sun Grunts used.

"Hands up," Hall said, Kris and Wes obeying immediately.

"Hey, Mr. Hall, chill out!" Billy told him. "I know you're mad about your company and all, dog, but you gotta get out of this game. We could be ex-criminal bros!"

"You too, Billy!" Hall snapped as he aimed his weapon at him.

"Is this because we didn't do that song you wrote in the Altru New Year's party?" Billy asked innocently. "'Cause no offense, but that song suck-"

Hall fired his weapon, a shock wave hitting Billy in the chest and sending him sprawled on the plane's floor, finally alerting the other passengers.

"My song does not suck!" Hall snapped, then addressed the other passengers. "Attention, everyone! From now on, I'm in charge of what happens in this plane! Everyone do as I say and no one gets blasted! He'll be fine in a few seconds," Hall told Billy's siblings who had rushed to him. "I only used the stunner setting. But I won't hesitate to fry anyone who tries to stop me!"

"All right, Hall," Wes told him defiantly, "I don't know what your game is, but you're obviously mad at me, so-"

"Shut up, you redneck!" Hall snapped at him. "I'm not after you! I'm after _her_!" Hall waved his gun precariously at Kris.

"Oh," Wes said, deflating visibly.

Kris frowned. "Why me?"

"That idiot Kincaid told me about you," Hall said, keeping his eyes on Kris but also making sure the other passengers staid still. "You're the last person who was with Isaac."

"Did Pryce send you here to finish the job?" Kris asked Hall defiantly.

But Hall just snorted in contempt, the question clearly upsetting him. "PRYCE?!" he ranted. "That lunatic is the Grand Master's new pet now. _I_ used to run Team Dim Sun, but that freak made all of them, even Kincaid, work for him instead. I'm doing this for _me_! Where have you hidden the little twerp?"

Kris looked at Hall in the eyes (or tried to, anyway), trying to gauge if he was really telling the truth.

"Then you don't know that Pryce killed him already?" she asked.

Hall just stared at Kris for a while in silence before shaking his head. "Damn it," he muttered. "Well, you still spoke to him last. And now you're going to tell me everything he told you… and give me _anything_ he gave you!"

"If you're not doing this for Pryce, then why?"

"Insurance policy!" Hall said as if it was obvious. "I'm a wanted man! I'm gonna need a bargaining chip to get a good deal. After Kincaid was caught red-handed with the Capture Stylers, I checked Altru's server logs – and it turns out Isaac had been copying all our sensitive data left and right, probably with the same intentions. I bet he put it all on his little Poké Ball flash drive, didn't he?"

"And who exactly are you gonna bargain with?" Wes asked Hall. "Your company's finished."

Hall chuckled. "You kids really have no idea," he said obnoxiously. "Altru Inc was just a small part in a much, _much_ bigger puzzle. Our company's main purpose was to sell software, electronics, consumer goods, all kinds of things people would put their sensitive information to. Everything that happened in the Ranger Union, the company would know, and it would all be logged on our computers. And not only that, but thanks to our remote location, our servers were chosen to store info gathered from other regions as well! _Every_ region with a Pokémon League wanted to dump their data on us! And Isaac cherry-picked the juiciest files!"

Kris had long since stopped keeping track of Hall's rambling and Wes seemed equally confused. Lunick was too busy being sick to help, but Hilda marched over to Hall without even caring about his weapon.

"Stop right there!" Hall shouted and aimed at Hilda. "I will shoot!"

"Yeah, I don't think you will," Hilda said casually, "because we have bigger problems."

 **~o~O~o~**

In a back room of the plane, Hilda had opened a mysterious crate with no labels on it. And it became apparent why: there was a live bomb, complete with a cartoony timer ticking down, with about ten minutes left on the countdown. Hall, who had kept Kris and Hilda at gunpoint and forced them to go first, gasped when he saw that.

"Those bastards!" he snarled.

"You know something about this?" Hilda asked him.

"Yes, well… it's mine," Hall said sheepishly, "but it's not supposed to be live! I paid all of my remaining money to bribe it into the plane, and I was just supposed to use it as a deterrent! I'm not crazy enough to arm it while I'm _in_ the plane!"

"I have to think of something to say to the passengers," Hilda said. "You two talk it out."

Hall didn't even seem to realize that his hostage situation had completely fallen out of his control. As Hilda left the room, he was alone with Kris, yet could do nothing but panic about the bomb.

"All right, you have a deal," Kris said tensely. "You just… _disarm_ this thing and maybe we'll talk about what I heard from Isaac. You _do_ know how to disarm this, right?"

"Of course!" Hall replied as he wiped sweat off his forehead. "But… then what?"

"...what?"

"I brought live explosives into this plane!" Hall panicked. "I've taken people hostage… and when the plane lands, the police will be there. I can't go to jail!"

"Well, you should have thought about that before you brought a _bomb_ into a plane!" Kris snapped.

"No, you don't get it!" Hall ranted. "I _can't_ go to jail because I'll never see the inside of a prison cell. I was trusted with the biggest secrets in the world and I lost them! They'll eat me alive – literally!"

"Who they?" Kris wondered, but the beeping of the bomb snapped her out of it. "Never mind! Can you just please disarm that thing?"

Hall stared at the bomb for a while, then slowly turned to look at Kris, weapon pointed at her.

"No," he just said, face pale and moist with sweat.

"Um… can you reconsider?" Kris asked awkwardly, raising her hands again. "Be cool, Blake!"

"No!" Hall yelled. "Forget it! This info isn't worth dying over! I'm out of here! There's parachutes on board, right?! I'll grab me one of them – better make it two or three, actually – and get the hell out! You people can stay here!"

"Don't be an idiot!" Kris snapped. "Weapon or not, everyone on this plane will take you out before you even get your hands on a parachute! Just put the gun down and-"

But Kris didn't get to finish her sentence as Blake Hall pulled the trigger. Kris' words got caught in her throat as she saw a bright flash of light, and as she felt the impact of an electric shock on her body, she was out cold in a second.

 **~o~O~o~**

…

…

...

 _Huh?_

 _I must have overslept. Arceus, I just want to stay at home. School's probably started already. And stupid Lyra will be there…_

Kris got out of her bed, sweeping her disastrously messy hair off her face and somehow managed to stand up, even if everything was a bit hazy. Putting on the slippers next to her bed to avoid the cold floor of her basement, Kris shuffled over to her bathroom, hoping her mother would be at work already. She wasn't interested in hearing a lecture about how she was sleeping her future career away.

As she got to the bathroom sink to wash herself, though, she immediately realized something was off. Seeing herself in the mirror, she wasn't in her pajamas, and her black hair wasn't messy at all – well, not _morning_ -messy, anyway, but tied on her usual pigtails. And she was wearing her usual yellow cap, pink top, jacket with sleeves that were a bit too long and worn-out jeans.

 _Welp, that's it, game over. I'm dead. I'm dead and back in the basement. Fitting as a purgatory, though still not the worst I could think of._

 _I wonder if it was just Hall's blast that did it and the others got to him… or did the bomb explode? How could I know?_

 _Or am I just sleeping? Only one way to find out…_

"Ouch!"

Kris rubbed her arm after pinching it painfully.

 _Okay, I'm not sleeping either. What the hell is this?_

"Excellent question!"

Kris looked at mirror for the source of the voice and quickly backed away at what was suddenly staring at her: the face of, what she assumed to be, a Pokémon, albeit nothing like Kris had ever seen before. It was small and floating in mid-air, mostly pink and gray with yellow and green eyes and a wide grin on its face, like with a Gengar. Around the two gray horns on the side of its head were golden rings.

"That's it?!" the Pokémon asked her, talking in a way no Pokémon had done before. Mewtwo and Latias had been capable of speech, sure, but through telepathy. But this little impish Pokémon was clearly moving its mouth.

"Oh, come on, you've got to do better than that!" the Pokémon said as it literally emerged out of the mirror. "You're so darn jaded. Just because you've seen monsters capable of destroying continents you think you've seen it all!"

"'Cause something about this feels familiar," Kris muttered, realizing she was safe. "It's like… like when me, Lyra and Wes were absorbed by Darkrai."

As the words left her mouth, the bathroom, basement and everything else around her suddenly shattered into pieces, replaced by a white void in which only she and the mysterious Pokémon remained.

"The name's Hoopa," the Pokémon said. "Darkrai and I may not have been the closest allies, but we're on the same side – and we have a common enemy. The beast of the Distortion World, the Renegade Pokémon, banished to the Distortion World millions of years ago. The creature whose only objective for the past five thousand years has been an attempt to return from its prison and reshape the world as it sees fit, shed from the curse of humanity."

"Giratina," Kris said.

"Oh, good, I was afraid I'd be expositing for hours," Hoopa sighed, doing a little loop in the air. "You're not as dumb as you look."

"Th – hey!"

"I'm kidding!" Hoopa laughed as it circled around Kris. "To answer your obvious questions, no, you're not dead, my face is much prettier than the Grim Reaper's. As Blake Hall's stunner left you unconscious, I was able to pull your mind to _my_ little pocket dimension. Not to brag, but traveling between dimensions is _kinda_ my expertise. As soon as you go back, you'll wake up and everything will be as it was before. Well..."

Hoopa's face suddenly turned sinister. "...if I let you go back, that is."

As Kris shuddered, Hoopa suddenly laughed again.

"Got you again!" it giggled. "Lighten up! Of course I'll let you go. You're a pivotal piece in our plan now!"

Kris frowned. "And whose plan would that be? You don't mean-"

Hoopa extended its hands, floating separately from its body, stopping Kris' train of thought. "Whoa there!" it said. "Don't go thinking too highly of yourself, now. I'm not a direct line to the big A. But yeah, let's say that there are… _beings_ out there who have the power to influence things. Some are friendly. Others, not so much. Lucky for you I'm on the good guy side."

"And how can I believe you?" Kris countered.

"Because _I_ have the knowledge that will help you stop Giratina's return to this world," Hoopa said with a big smile on its face. "Not like before, but _permanently_. Don't just take my word for it, though – I'll _show_ you!"

Colorful "pieces" suddenly seemed to rain down on Kris as the world rebuilt itself, the void replaced by an altar of some kind in a dark, ruined temple. Kris was standing on top of a triangular stage, with a colored symbol in every corner of the triangle, though Kris had no idea what they meant. The room seemed to be sealed entirely with no exit – no doors or windows. Yet there were torches hung around the room, lighting up the place and exposing the writing on the wall.

The writing was like on the Ruins of Alph – part Unown letters, part Braille and mostly symbols which Kris couldn't decipher. And it was literally all over the place, filling the surface area of all four walls and even the ceiling.

"These are the Sinjoh Ruins," Hoopa explained. "This is where the ancient peoples of the Johto and Sinnoh regions gathered to worship Arceus and write down the first saga of the ancient prophecy."

"You mean… it's there," Kris said shakily as she pointed at the walls. "All I need to know about my destiny?"

" _Your_ destiny?!" Hoopa squawked and laughed again. "Oh, Kris, you crack me up. You're not some mythical Chosen One. We haven't looked down on you since your birth or some phooey like that. Your _actions_ are the things that define you. And your latest encounter with Pryce was the last thing you needed to do to prove us that you were worth the effort. You've done enough to be noticed by us."

Kris turned to look at the walls again, tired of Hoopa's mocking tone. As she looked at the prophecy, the strange symbols, all the ones she didn't understand, suddenly began to reform, the pieces of the puzzle coming together. As she read it, Kris could suddenly hear a voice in her head speaking the words with perfect clarity:

" _Near the end of the cycle, the sky shall be darkened by a rain of fire from another world. On the place where life began, so does the invasion. On the place where everything began, so shall it end._ "

" _Everything has meaning. Existence has meaning. Being alive has meaning. Have dreams. Use power_."

" _Let the two glittering stones, one in red, one in blue, connect the past. Friends sharing power open a gateway to a new world that glows. The next world awaits for you_."

" _On the year of Ho-Oh, a child rise to lead as the Champion on the eastern mountains. The virtuous Champion shall be saved from a fate worse than death by a worthy successor, marked by the seed of darkness._ "

" _And it was said that the one to succeed the Champion of the people shall become the Transcendent One. The one that masters the seven virtues, born on the year of Suicune in the sacred place, will suffer. Through suffering, they shall be reborn. And as they are reborn, a new legend of the Transcendent One begins._ "

Shaking her head, Kris turned to look at the grinning Hoopa.

"Did you just do that?" she asked, eyes wide from the experience. After so many months of hearing vaguely translated pieces of the prophecy, to hear it all so clearly was overwhelming.

"Perhaps," Hoopa said elusively. "I gave you a nudge in the right direction. It's all thanks to the fact that your plane was over the Sinjoh Ruins as you were knocked unconscious. This allowed me to project you here."

"The year of Suicune…" Kris muttered with a big smile on her face. "The holy place… it all makes sense. It's me! It really is me!"

"Whoa, whoa, what did I just say about this not being _your_ destiny, kid?!" Hoopa chuckled snidely. "Tell me, do you know anyone else born on the same year and in the same area as you, hmm? One also marked by a 'seed of darkness', as the most accurate translation says. People who have also gone through suffering and adventures, in the name of battling against the forces of evil and so on?"

Kris' eyes went even wider, but her smile disappeared. "Silver… and… friggin' Lyra!"

Kris turned to look at Hoopa. "But it can't be either!" she protested. "Silver bailed on us and rejoined his father. And Lyra… well it just can't be Lyra! Have you _met_ her?!"

"Didn't I just tell you that I represent forces that can see all?"

"Well… yeah, that was a rhetorical question! Then you know what she's like! I'm not a selfish, rude, cowardly b… oh crap."

Hoopa just stared at Kris quizzically. After a few seconds of silence, it suddenly opened its mouth:

"Let me show you something," it just said.

Then, it floated out of the ruins through the door, into the white void. Hesitantly, knowing full well of the implications of "walking into the light", Kris followed it. But as soon as she stepped into the void, the environment around her seemed to change. She was back in the basement, only it wasn't like before. It was full of loud noises coming from the TV, and the laughter of two young girls on the couch watching it.

Hoopa was floating next to Kris as she watched the scene unfold around her. Of course, she recognized the two girls instantly. Both girls had pigtails, pale skin, brown eyes and were of similar height. The other had black hair and clearly didn't give a damn what she was wearing, the other had brown hair and looked much cleaner but with fashion sense making it seem like her mom had dressed her.

It was Kris and Lyra, from maybe five or six years ago. Cynthia, looking just as beautiful and glamorous as Kris remembered her being now, was battling against the handsome Lucian of the Elite Four, and just as Kris knew her, Cynthia was on fire – her Togekiss alone was powerful enough to take out two of Lucian's Pokémon, and she hadn't even used Garchomp yet. Kris even remembered the very second when Garchomp finally came on the screen and Kris and Lyra yelled so hard that Kris' mom woke up from her drunken stupor. When Cynthia won the battle, as expected, Kris and Lyra stood up and started bouncing and yelling and hugging…

 _Good times_ , Kris thought.

"Yes, I do remember my own life, this isn't exactly new information," Kris told Hoopa in a deadpan voice. "Can we go?"

"Are you sure?" Hoopa asked. "Maybe you remember what happened… but do you remember the meaning behind the events?"

"What meaning?!" Kris wondered. "Just me and Lyra, watching TV… back when we were still best friends."

"And you aren't anymore, yes," Hoopa stated. "Why don't I show you something else…"

"What is it now?" Kris asked sarcastically. "That time I just put on my mom's perfume instead of showering?"

"No, we don't have time for all those," Hoopa remarked. "Instead, we'll look into a future that never was. The beginning of your journey was quite a rocky one, no?"

"What part of this journey _hasn't_ been?!"

"Well, you must have wondered at some point, what would it have been like had you given up on your dream had you lost the gym battle in Violet City."

"…you can do that?"

Hoopa just smirked, and before Kris could even contemplate on her answer, reality around her shattered and rebuilt itself again. Although it was still the basement, Kris was the same age as she was now, only much worse dressed and dirty, like she hadn't left the room in days. There were no Pokémon to be seen, no sign of Shrew and Croc. Kris saw this shaggy version of herself lazily collapse on her bed and turn on her laptop, eyes half-closed and body limp. It was painful for Kris to watch.

But then, there was a knock on the door. Kris watched the alternate version of herself just lounging there, not reacting in any way. When the knocking got more impatient, this other-Kris sighed and lazily got off the bed and walked up the stairs to the front door. Observing, the real Kris and Hoopa followed them.

As the parallel Kris finally got to opening the door, she was greeted by a bright sunny day – not the end of the world Kris had been hoping for. This was contrasted by a scarred, tattered Lyra storming in holding a sword, her Typhlosion, equally scarred with one nasty cut over its right eye, following suit. The real Kris watched the ensuing scene.

"Oh, thank goodness you're home, Kris!" Lyra gasped as she grabbed Kris by the arm. "Listen, I know it's been a while, but I have to tell you something."

"I've been fine, by the way," Kris answered Lyra lazily and shook the other girl off.

"Sorry, but there's no time for that!" Lyra pleaded, Kris eyeing the sword she was carelessly waving around. "I know this sounds hard to believe, but there's an evil Pokémon attacking the world. Everyone's going around, trying to find ways to stop it! Even professor Elm is there!"

"Huh, was wondering where he had disappeared to," Kris said disinterestedly. "And?"

"And… we need more people!" Lyra cried. "I've been leading the charge to find these plates that can save us all, but we're stretched too thin! You know a lot about Pokémon and battles, you gotta help us!"

"Can't," Kris answered while yawning. "I gave Croc back to the breeding center after Violet City. It didn't obey me anyway. And Shrew… well, best no to talk about that one…"

"Then we'll get you one!" Lyra pleaded and her Typhlosion hissed at Kris. "Haven't you always wanted to be a trainer? We've got some real powerful trainers working with us, we even have Cy-"

"Yeah, don't care," Kris interrupted, barely even listening. "And tell your rat over there to calm down before I spray a fire hose at it!"

Typhlosion exposed her teeth at Lyra, but Lyra merely had to look at her to calm her down. Realizing that Kris was serious, Lyra led Typhlosion out of the house and went after the Pokémon, though she turned at the doorstep to make one last plead.

"Kris, please, I don't think you understand," she said desperately. "The fate of thousands, maybe even millions is at stake! If we don't act, there might not _be_ a New Bark Town soon!"

"Good," Kris answered plainly and shut the door on Lyra's face.

The real Kris could just watch this scenario unfold in horror. It wasn't what she saw that scared her the most – it was the fact that she didn't doubt this possible reality for a second. Fortunately, this reality shattered as well and Kris and Hoopa merely stood on a featureless white void again.

Kris stared at Hoopa. "Why did you show me that?" she asked, trying to fight the burning sensation in her throat. "How is that supposed to help me? Or this cause of yours for that matter?"

"Only you can answer that question, Kris," Hoopa said infuriatingly. "But tell me this – what did you pursue when you first began your journey?"

"I wanted to compete in the Silver Conference," Kris said, annoyed of the question, since she believed Hoopa knew anyway. "So I had to take these tests the Legendary Pokémon Society had prepared. They were to test, um, virtues-"

"The eight virtues, yes," Hoopa said. "Those are the qualities that make the so-called 'Transcendent One', a person to be held as the paragon for all that is good, etcetera. Honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality and humility. And you think a self-centered whiner like you has any of those in her?"

This set Kris off. "Oh yeah?!" she snapped. "Well I'll show you! I don't care if the Legendary Pokémon Society will never accept me! I'm going to keep working those trials and _prove_ I've got what it takes."

"And your, err, _rival_?"

"I will _beat_ her!" Kris hissed, squeezing her hands into fists. "I will show her who's transistor-whatever around here! Because this is _my_ destiny!"

Hoopa smiled at her. "Just what I wanted to hear. And just in time too."

Kris frowned. "What?"

"It's time to wake up."

 **~o~O~o~**

" _...she's coming to..._ "

"... _worried that she'd_..."

" _...give her some space..._ "

Kris' eyelids slowly opened and she was immediately greeted by roaring of an engine and the wind hitting her face. She quickly realized she was in motion, on the back seat of a jeep. Lunick and Wes were sitting next to her, concerned looks on their faces, Lunick grabbing Kris for a strong hug when he saw that Kris was awake, though he quickly let go as well.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You must still be a bit shaken up."

Kris didn't answer, instead sitting upright on her seat and looking at the front seat. Hilda and a tied up and gagged Blake Hall were there, and driving the jeep they were in, was a tall, blonde-haired woman clad in black. Kris could see her piercing gray eyes as she glanced at Kris from the rear-view mirror.

"Cynthia!" Kris gasped.

"She was amazing!" Lunick raved. "The pilots got an emergency message out and Cynthia happened to be in the area, so she, her Togekiss and her Garchomp soared in to make sure Hall wouldn't try anything. She got him to defuse the bomb and then guided the plane to a safe landing."

"Yeah, you missed a lot, Kris," Wes commented. "But it all happened so fast, too, it was like a dream."

"Dream..." Kris muttered. "The Sinjoh Ruins..."

Cynthia glanced at Kris again. "You're still a bit disoriented," she commented. "There was talk of taking you to a hospital, but I know that the mystical energy of the ruins may have affected you somehow. It happens quite often – everything around those ruins is like the Bermuda Triangle."

"So we were flying above the ruins..." Kris said quietly. "And Cynthia helped us land safely? Then what?"

"Your friends told me you're going to Phenac City," Cynthia said plainly. "And that's where we're going. I'm afraid I can't tell you much more about the area, though," Cynthia added, guessing what Kris had in mind, "it's top secret Legendary Pokémon Society business for now. You understand, right?"

"Yeah," Kris sighed. "I understand."

Now wasn't the time to question what had happened when Kris was out. To Kris, what Hoopa had told her was far more important. She knew it wasn't a dream, as she vividly remembered every moment. It couldn't be a hallucination either. She now knew something she previously hadn't, and it was time to put this knowledge to the test.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Woo, updoot, hopefully more coming, peace my friends~**_


	8. The Deserts of Orre

**Chapter Eight: "** _ **The Deserts of Orre**_ **"**

 _ **Location: Phenac City, Orre**_

To Kris, Phenac City was both a marvel and a disappointment at the same time. Sure, the city, built around a desert oasis, surrounded by high stone walls protecting it from the harsh winds of the endless-looking desert, was gorgeous, what with its water fountains and stone buildings. At the same time, for a capital city of a region, Phenac sure was… crappy.

After the initial awestruck feeling, Kris couldn't help but to notice how small the city was, how many of the white stone buildings were crumbling or had been defaced and how many poor, desolate-looking people wandered aimlessly around town, pleading for spare change. And all this was just a few blocks away from the mayor's office.

To be fair, the mayor's building was at least fancy, a large mansion with an ornate garden and swimming pool. This only furthered Kris' disillusionment, seeing as she could literally see the slums down the end of the road from there.

After Cynthia had dropped the group to Phenac, Hilda had led Kris, Wes and Lunick to Mayor Es Cade's office. She had then grabbed the bound and gagged Blake Hall and announced her departure.

"This is where we part, kids," Hilda told the other three – even if she was younger than Lunick and about the same age as Wes. "Say hi to Mayor McCheese for me. I'd tell you to thank him for the flight, but… eh."

"What are you going to do with him?" Lunick asked, gesturing at Blake Hall in disgust.

"Justice will be served, surely," Hilda said as she gleefully shook the tied man. "My employers will want to talk to him, I think."

"Wait!" Kris yelled.

Hilda raised her eyebrows at her.

"Sorry," Kris said sheepishly. "I just… how important is bringing him in to you?"

"Honestly?" Hilda asked. "I'd rather not bother. But I can't exactly let a wanted criminal walk away. Or hobble away as well as he can, being tied up and all."

"Well… I know this sounds crazy and probably violates a law or two-"

"Kris, this is Orre, remember," Wes laughed, though Lunick did not approve, based on his look.

"Yeah, well, Hilda, can we keep him for a bit longer? I mean, do you still have business in Orre?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting my employers at the Pokémon HQ Laboratory, on the other side of the region," Hilda said, glancing Kris suspiciously. "What do you need this dirtball for?"

"He might know something important," Kris said, trying to look Hall in the eyes through his shades. "I know this is unusual, but there's three of us, and in case you haven't noticed, we're far better than the average trainer. I'm sure we can handle an unarmed man with no Pokémon at all."

Hilda looked at Hall, then Kris again. She didn't think long, though, just shrugged and pushed Hall towards Kris. The confused look on Lunick's face told what he thought about the matter.

"Kris, why?" he wondered. "You saw what his people did at the Ranger tournament! He needs to be brought to justice!"

"We will, and for the record, this is not how we usually handle this stuff in our time," Kris said. "But I need to talk to him in private. He could give us some valuable info."

Lunick clearly didn't agree, but didn't find much support. Hilda didn't care either way and the day Wes agreed with Lunick would be the day when Kris would be a socialite invited to all the hip parties.

"Just one last thing, Hilda," Kris said as Hilda handed custody of Hall to Wes and a reluctant Lunick. "What about this test of yours you were talking about?"

"You'll find out on your own," Hilda said nonchalantly. "I mean, even you can't miss the event that's gonna hit Orre soon."

" _Ughh_ damn it, Hilda!" Wes groaned. "Can't you just tell us what's going to happen?"

"What, and give you time to prepare?" Hilda laughed. "That wouldn't be fair, now would it? See you the next time I need to save your sorry asses! Ooh, that reminds me!"

Hilda gave a small package to Kris. It was labeled 'handle with care' and seemed to contain some piece of tech.

"Just do me a favor and don't open it until you're out of the city," Hilda said quickly.

And with that, Hilda sprinted away. Asking Wes to hold Hilda's package and go ahead to the mayor's place and Lunick to keep watch, Kris escorted the bound Hall to a dark alley. While Ranger Union authorities probably didn't have much power in Orre, Kris wasn't going to take any chances this time. To his credit, Hall was completely calm and complying, having the same stern look on his face as always, following Kris down the alley. Making sure Hall wouldn't try anything, Kris let Croc out of its ball. Seeing the big Feraligatr expose its teeth at him made even Hall flinch a little.

"I'm taking off the gag," Kris said coldly. "Try anything and Croc will tear your mustache off and eat it in front of you. Is that a good threat?" Kris asked Croc, who just replied by lazily picking its ear. "Eh, it'll do."

As Kris yanked the gag off, Hall just stared down at her – or so Kris assumed, what with the sunglasses he always wore.

"Right off the bat, I'd like to say that these conditions are horrible," Hall said calmly. "As a prisoner, I demand you purchase me clothes better suited for a desert climate-"

"Ah, shut it," Kris interrupted. "What you want more than funky new threads right now is _this_ , no?"

Kris dangled the Poké Ball -shaped flash drive in front of Hall. She could practically hear him grind his teeth together, trying to wriggle out of his bonds to grab it, but Hilda had made sure to make them tight. Croc growled at Hall, who immediately stopped squirming.

"So I was right," Hall said. "That punk Isaac really did give it to you."

Hall suddenly raised his other eyebrow so it could be visible.

"Tell me the truth," he said quietly. "That's just a decoy, isn't it? You defeated Pryce and got away from Team Dim Sun unharmed, you're probably a smart kid. Where did you really stash Isaac?"

"Hall, he's dead," Kris said firmly.

"...and that's the real thing?" Hall gasped. "Girl, are you insane?!"

"...what answer makes me look better?"

Hall sighed. "Stupid Isaac," he grumbled. "I had nothing against him, you know. He was a good employee. But I'm not gonna cry over a rat who lost his nerve and made a huge mess just to save his own skin!"

"Am I really in danger?" Kris asked. "How much is this information here worth?"

"We're beyond any monetary sums here," Hall said ominously. "In theory, some groups would pay millions, even billions to get their hands on that drive. But what's inside there is too much of a risk for anyone to take. I don't actually envy you anymore, kid. You keep that and they'll come after you for sure. You get rid of that or destroy it and they'll hurt you for it. Either way, you're screwed."

Kris frowned at Hall. "You were after this not too long ago."

"Yeah, but I had time to think about it on the car," Hall pondered. "I don't want to just survive. I want to _live_. And constantly having to watch my back is not a life I want to lead."

Hall actually smiled and leaned against the dirty wall of the alley.

"For the first time in twenty years, I feel free," he sighed. "When my father ran Altru, our company did things that mattered. But when the Pokémon Association got their tendrils on it and put me in charge, I've felt this work eat away at my soul every day. I've had to see some pretty messed up stuff that I could never tell anyone. Prison is relaxing, at least. Maybe I'll get to make baskets or license plates or something that's useful..."

"Oh, please," Kris cringed. "Should I indulge you in your pity party? You could have had my friends killed!"

"Key word is 'could have'," Hall pointed out. "I took them alive and locked them up, because I needed information, yes, but also because I don't go for brutal, underhanded tactics like that. The Grand Master ordered me to squeeze every bit of information they had and get rid of them if they didn't have anything useful, but I personally delayed that. And I don't care if you don't believe me or not!" Hall snapped when Kris looked incredulous. "All that matters is that I know that and I finally got that off my chest."

Kris smiled slyly. "So, you don't know anything about Jirachi or the prophecy then?" Kris asked. "I could as well recite it from memory. ' _Near the end of the cycle, the sky shall be darkened by a rain of fire from another world-_ "

"Whoa!" Hall said with a chuckle. "I'm impressed, you've figured out that much. Unfortunately for you, so did the Grand Master. Just before the tournament, I heard his men seized this scientist who was translating that part of the prophecy right here."

Kris tried not to give away her reaction. Did they come all this way just for professor Cozmo to be taken away from under her nose? Was the same thing that happened in Almia happening again? Or was Hall just bluffing?

"The scientist knows quite a bit about astronomy, I hear," Hall mused to himself. "' _Rain of fire from another world, huh_?'. Well, the Litleonid meteor shower is coming soon. Who knows..."

"Enough with this cryptic junk!" Kris snapped. "Fine, so I'm still not close to beating them. But if you're in just as much danger as I am… why don't we help each other out? If you're not just pretending, it must mean you want to hurt them too!"

Hall sneered at Kris through his sunglasses, but he didn't say anything. Kris could tell he hadn't rejected the idea outright.

"Of course I do," Hall scoffed after a pause, "but it doesn't mean I want to do it with _you_. How do I know you won't just put me in jail as soon as I tell you what I know?"

"Because you're a crafty little weasel who's going to tell us it all in drops," Kris theorized. "Tease us with bits of info, enough at a time to make us think you're useful and worth keeping around, but not enough that we'll dump you completely. And that's fine by me! After all, nobody besides you knows that I have flash drive, meaning when the men in black come, they'll take _you_ first."

Hall grinned. "You got yourself a deal, missy! Now untie me already!"

"Nah, I forgot to say, we'll keep those on. I'm not an idiot."

Croc made a sound behind Kris that almost sounded like it was laughing.

 **~o~O~o~**

After Kris left Lunick and Croc to deal with Hall outside, she and Wes entered the mayor's office. As luck would have it, mayor Es Cade had returned from Almia, and while Kris would have thought she would have to smooth-talk her way in, Es Cade was actually happy to receive them, taking the duo to his office. It was quite luxurious, an enormous flat-screen TV on one wall, a mahogany desk in the corner, floors entirely carpeted and bookshelves full of important- and expensive-looking books all over any wall that wasn't adorned with a screen or a painting.

"I'm afraid I can't make good of my dinner promise at this very moment," Es Cade said heartily as Kris and Wes sat down, the mayor sitting behind his desk on a very high chair. "Offering you something like that would be an _insult_ after what happened. Rest assured, the saboteurs _will_ be brought to justice by our competent police force."

Wes had to hide his laughter, Kris poking him in the ribs.

"I am at least pleased to see there were no casualties," the mayor continued. "But still, I feel responsible for all this, so if there is anything I can do-"

"Yes, sir, there is," Kris said quickly. "Information. As the mayor of the region's capital, you must have a lot of influence that extends beyond Phenac, right? Like about important dignitaries?"

"Of course!" Es Cade laughed. "I oversee almost everything that happens around here. It's a never-ending, thankless job, but it's my duty to keep our region safe."

Wes squeezed the armrests of his chair, looking like he was on the verge of either laughing or throwing up or most likely both.

"Do you know a scientist from Hoenn, professor Cozmo?" Kris asked, ignoring Wes. "He visited the Pokémon HQ Laboratory, but I have reason to believe he's in trouble."

Es Cade nodded sadly. "So that's why you came here. I'm sorry, but you've heard correctly. Cozmo ventured out of the laboratory a few days ago to observe the stars, but disappeared that very night. We haven't heard of him since, though if I had to venture a guess… I'd say Team Snagem got him."

Wes looked even more uncomfortable before, squirming in his chair. The mayor glanced at him, but Kris turned his attention away from Wes. "Well in that case, we need to save him. I know the Orre police is probably, um, _hard at work_ , but this guy here," Kris slapped Wes' shoulder needlessly roughly, "knows the desert better than them, I'm sure. We can help."

Scratching his chin, the short mayor got out of his chair and walked to one of the bookshelves, pulling out a folder.

"I have a map of suspected Team Snagem hideouts, but despite our best efforts, they keep surviving," Es Cade said as he browsed through the folder. "Even if you destroy a Durant nest, they'll just build another. That's why we've launched a government-sponsored bounty hunt."

Wes perked up hearing that.

"Five thousand pokédollars for a confirmed Snagem hideout sighting," Es Cade said and handed the folder to Kris. "Fifty thousand for a Snagem Grunt brought to justice – by any means necessary. And _one million pokédollars_ to anyone who brings me the leader of those band of thieves… Gonzap!"

Es Cade pointed at the picture Kris just pulled out the folder. What Kris had assumed to be a statue made out of meat was indeed a man – a bald, humongous one with an outrageous mustache.

"Kris, you and your friends are heroes, right?" the mayor suddenly asked in a frantic tone. "The way you stood up to the feared Masked Man back in Almia… it made me wish we had someone like you in our police force!"

"Aww, shucks," Kris said, trying and failing to act cool. "That was just… _nah_! Really?"

"Yes!" the mayor said. "Will you rise to the task? Will you help stomp Team Snagem into the curb! I feel you could end the whole gang… and if you do, I'll _triple_ the bounty on Gonzap."

The amount of money Kris just imagined made her a bit dizzy, almost forgetting the reason why she was there. Es Cade suddenly pulled something from his drawer, but while Wes got tense, it turned out to be just a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled something on the paper, then stamped it with an official-looking seal before giving it to Kris.

"If you do, please visit the garage in that address!" Es Cade said. "It'll have what you need to cross the desert quickly. Keep it if necessary!"

"We haven't said 'yes' yet, mayor," Wes said, finally giving his input.

"I know," Es Cade said, sounding almost pleading. "Consider this between us. You don't have to agree to anything yet, but I still urge you to find Cozmo. Officials from Hoenn keep calling me every day – Orre's reputation is bad enough as it is."

"Don't I know that," Wes muttered.

"If you trust in us this much, mayor, we'll definitely see what we can do," Kris interjected. "Our first priority is still finding professor Cozmo."

After a heartfelt wish of luck and a goodbye from the mayor, Kris and Wes left. Making sure they were out of his and his secretary's earshot, Kris and Wes began arguing.

"I don't trust that guy! Not a word he says!" Wes said immediately. "He's leading us into another trap."

"According to my PokéGear, the address in the card is legit and it's right around the corner," Kris pointed out. "I don't exactly trust him either after that bomb incident, but you gotta remember it was Hall who brought it in."

"But somebody else armed it, right?" Wes said. "And the stuff he said about Team Snagem just didn't seem right."

"Hey, you're the expert there," Kris said and showed Wes the map. "Does this look believable to you?"

"Probably," Wes said. "I did blow up one of their bases and it still shows up on this map. But I don't doubt his info being valid or nothin'. I just think kidnapping people isn't Team Snagem's style. Most they would have done is steal his Pokémon and maybe his clothes if they're particularly fancy, but nothing more. He was so eager to blame Team Snagem but didn't even mention Cipher!"

"You've been gone from the scene from quite a while, I guess, things change."

"Yeah, but I've lived at the lab for my whole life, and I've never seen any Snagem member dare step close to it. They mostly stick to the deserts, the mountains and the slums. Something about this is off. This is just gonna suck, I know it!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Desert, north of Phenac City, Orre**_

"THIS!" Wes shouted as the motorbike whooshed past a big sand dune. "DOES NOT SUCK!"

Es Cade had prepared the group a motorbike which was, to the surprise of many, completely free of bombs or other sabotage. So, Wes had revved up the bike with Kris sitting behind him and Lunick and the tied-up Blake Hall (now disguised with a big hat and his ponytail tucked under it) squeezing into the sidecar. It wasn't the most comfortable way to travel, but the only other option was walking.

And Kris, despite having ridden one of them before in Johto, was still amazed how the motorbike operated. Besides the wind rushing by, there was very little sound to be heard, the bike somehow hovering its way through, the engine making very minimal noise. The plan was to take the safest road to the lab, meaning they'd drive up to the mountains in the north, then use Wes' Zebstrika and Lunick's Luxray to travel the rest of the way to the lab. At the speed they were going, it would only take them about 20 hours to cross the region.

Despite their protective headgear, goggles and ample supplies of water, the heat and dust around them still wasn't exactly making the trip any easier, meaning as soon as the group came across an oasis, they stopped to fill up on water. They left Blake Hall in the sidecar, though, where he looked nervously at the Mandibuzz flying above.

"How long must you keep this man with us?" Lunick asked Kris harshly as they filled their bottles. "Kris, you know I respect your decisions, but there's this huge moral dilemma that's-"

"He's annoying you, isn't he?" Kris asked cheekily.

Lunick sighed. "Arceus, _yes_! He keeps squirming and complaining about the air and he takes up too much space! I'm on the verge of tossing him out! If it weren't for the laws of this land that consider it murder..."

"Well, we're far enough from the city to find out if he's worth keeping in," Kris promised. "Thanks for being patient."

Lunick looked like he was about to say something, but when Kris started walking towards Hall and didn't continue, he conceded the point. "Fine," he said with a smile.

"It's time to talk, Hall!" Kris told the bound man. "No, wait… Wes, do you mind?"

"This is worse than dealing with a baby," Wes grumbled but nonetheless took a spare water bottle and let Hall drink from that until he was done. Wes purposefully spilled some on his suit before putting the bottle away, though Hall couldn't do much about it.

"Tell me about this Grand Wizard dude," Kris said.

"Yeah, they said you 'made a deal with the devil to ensure profits for your company'," Wes recited from memory. "Is this Grand Master really that bad?"

Hall scoffed. "It's not as poetic as you might think," he said condescendingly. "The Grand Master funded me and my company because we can give him things money _can't_ buy. The kind of power no ordinary man can have. But for all his acting, he's still driven by human needs. He's had centuries of time to amass a powerful criminal network, and-"

"Excuse me?!" Lunick sputtered. "Centuries? I know this sounds weird coming from a literal time traveler, but how is that possible?!"

"Through the power of the one he and his cronies call Giratina, of course," Hall said plainly.

There was a silence between Kris, Wes and Lunick, who all glanced at each other while Hall just smiled.

"I've read every significant document that was given for us to store," Hall said. "I know more than most of the people who blindly follow him. That's why I didn't participate in storming the tournament. In fact, ever since I met the charismatic boy from Kanto… _Red_ I believe they called him… I've been planning my exit. I don't plan on dying or taking the fall for the Grand Master and going to jail. I want to retire to somewhere nice, maybe Alola..."

"You've met Red?" Kris wondered. "And you know about Giratina? Did you tell all this to him?"

"He came to see me just recently," Hall said. "I didn't tell him anything, but Isaac was leaking information to him back then already. What you have there, young lady, is just one of the four flash drives containing a key to accessing the _real_ goods. Isaac gave the Kanto champion one of them… and there's two more somewhere. I'm putting it to you plainly: if you have all four, you'll blow the lid on every conspiracy the Pokémon Association has ever concocted. Whether or not that's a good thing, well, that's for history decide."

"Slow down a little," Wes said as he rubbed his temples. "Go back a bit… the Grand Master heads the Circle of the Torn World? And they secretly run the Pokémon League?"

"I'm sure the Circle controls what the Pokémon League does, but the Grand Master is not involved and he's only one of the highest-ranking members of the Circle," Hall mused. "And the top dogs don't exactly see eye to eye. I'm probably the only one outside the Circle's core to know this, but they're all competing to be Giratina's messiah. The prophecy is quite clear that Giratina will only accept one individual as its true servant, and everyone else, even the suckers who worship it, will be beast food."

"So go back to the 'power' he's been given," Lunick said. "You know, your- ugh, I very much _hate_ calling him the 'Grand Master' all the time. What's his real name?"

"Even I don't know that," Hall shrugged. "The people who don't like him too much have dubbed him 'Greevil' or some corny nonsense like that. I personally like 'old baldy'. And yes, I'd call him that to his face if we were alone, because his only power seems to be his extreme longevity and his knowledge of the ancient languages the prophecies were written in. Oh, and of course, he has what every Circle member has – that little trinket that makes sure their master doesn't see them. That way they can even defy the beast's will if they need to. I'm sure old baldy has some kind of plan ready for bringing Giratina back."

Kris vividly remembered the battle with Pryce she thought would be her last. On the snowy top of Mt. Silver, Pryce's mask had been destroyed and the amulet protecting him had been taken off. As soon as that happened, a portal, like a tear in reality, had appeared above him and yanked him away from the world. Was he also a member of this 'Circle'?

Snapping out of it, Kris shook her head. "He can't," she said simply. "We stopped Giratina before and we made sure to close the portal to the Distortion World."

Hall just smiled. "It doesn't matter how many times you stop it. It's predestined. Giratina will return with the help of its chosen herald."

"And after that?" Wes asked quietly, having gone surprisingly pale.

"I don't know," Hall said and leaned back in the sidecar, looking oddly serene despite his captivity. "Perhaps you can stop the Grand Master, or perhaps your hero Red has some trick up his sleeve, but the only thing certain is that Giratina will win, eventually."

Wes and Lunick were both quiet, but Kris kicked the motorbike in frustration.

"I won't accept that!" she said. "And I don't want to hear any fatalistic crap from you!" she snapped at Hall. "Nothing's changed. We need to stop Pryce and old baldy, and from the look of things, they're well ahead of us."

Hall suddenly shivered.

"Are you cold?" Lunick asked in contempt. "In that suit, under this sun? How much more do we need to coddle you?"

"No, it's..." Hall muttered. "Pryce is not like the Grand Master. He's survived something impossible and he came back… wrong. That mask that gave him his powers? Apparently pieces of it had stuck to his face when it was destroyed, and the Distortion World's energy granted him permanent abilities. And yet he still follows old baldy's orders for some reason..."

"We can't worry about!" Kris shouted, more to Wes and Lunick than to Hall. "I think storytime is over for now, we need to keep moving! I-"

A ringing sound interrupted her. It was coming from Wes' pocket. Confused, Wes grabbed the package Hilda had given to them and handed it to Kris. Shrugging, Kris opened the package, revealing something like a phone inside, except it had a large antenna on it, like a blast from the past. The phone kept ringing, everyone just looking at it in confusion.

"A satellite phone," Hall said, looking curious himself. "Someone is going to great lengths to contact you. So are you lot just going to stare at it like idiots?"

Kris pressed the button to receive the call and slowly, as if fearing it'd explode next to her head, lifted it to her hear.

"H-hello?" she said timidly. "Um… new phone, who dis?"

" _Kris_!" said a familiar voice, a bit nasal and high-pitched for a grown man – professor Elm. " _Um, yes, hello, thank goodness, it works. Blaine, good news, it works!_ "

"Blaine?" Kris said. "He's there with you?"

" _We've been asked to contact you for a while now_ ," Elm stuttered, almost drowned out by shouting coming from the background from another familiar voice. " _Um, right, your Snorlax arrived to us without harm, my aide is looking after it for the moment, I am currently in Unova, as- Blaine, um, please, hold on just a moment!_ "

"Professor, please get to the point," Kris sighed. "Just explain a few things first. Why am I getting a call from you and Blaine on a satellite phone Hilda gave me?"

" _I'll let Blaine explain, but, um, before that, how have you been-_ "

" _That's enough of that,"_ interrupted the rough, gravely voice of Blaine, Cinnabar Island gym leader and former Pokémon researcher, one who had helped Kris and her friends numerous times in the past. " _Hey, kid, no time for chitchat. This is the most secure form of communication I could think of. You can never be too careful_!"

"Mm-hmm," Kris said, fully used to Blaine's tinfoil hat theories.

" _Me and my buddy Elm were invited to_ _visit the offices of the you-know-what organization Hilda must have told you about. She already gave you the speech about it, right?_ "

"Yeah, she did," Kris said, legitimately surprised. "Why you two of all people? Uh, no offense."

" _Hah! None taken_!" Blaine laughed maniacally. " _In fact, that's what I thought. Elm is just a young, spineless little wimp running a backwater lab_ -"

" _Hey_!"

" _And I'm blacklisted from almost every big Pokémon researcher convention in this hemisphere – and proud of it!_ _But they got us over people like Oak, Rowan_ _or that one Alolan guy who needs to put on a shirt. What does that say about our talent?!_ "

"And why exactly do they need you?"

" _Well_ ," Blaine said proudly, " _Elm's theories on Pokémon evolution_ and _his technical skills, especially the way he was able to modify the core programming of PokéDexes, are pretty much unparalleled in this community. And though my work on the Mewtwo project was swept under the rug, no one can deny its brilliance. Not to mention that unlike most Pokémon researchers, the two of us helped you through thick and thin with the Masked Man incident, and again with_ _Cyrus and_ _Team Galactic. And now, should we join, we're going to help in the fight against forces like Giratina_."

"I can't believe you, of all people, would agree to this," Kris pointed out. "You've always told me not to trust any bigwigs."

" _I haven't signed anything yet, of course! And everything they showed us happened at Professor Juniper's laboratory under tight security. Still, t_ _his organization is different, and I know that_ _this_ _Hilda girl is reliable._ _That's why I handed her the phone. But also to contact you – I believe you are en route to Orre?_ "

"We're right in the thick of it, actually," Kris said, looking around her. Aside from a distant rumbling like a plane or a storm, it was completely quiet and static in the hot desert. No humans, no Pokémon, not even a gust of wind to move any trees.

" _Why there, all of places?_ "

Kris glanced at Wes and Lunick. "Well, to meet up with professor Cozmo. I met him briefly in Hoenn but he was too shook from being captured by Team Magma to tell me anything. But I think he has some useful information for me now."

" _Is that right… hey, Elm, did you catch that_?"

" _Cozmo?!_ " Elm said as his voice came on. " _I can't believe it._ "

"Hey, you recommended him to me back in Hoenn," Kris said defiantly. "Didn't you say you know him?"

" _Yes, since we were teenagers. We were friends before, but when we started studying in the same university under professor Oak, we, well, um, drifted apart a bit. But, um, our relationship now is quite amicable. Perhaps not friendly, but_ -"

" _Yeah, yeah, no on cares_ ," Blaine grunted as he grabbed the line for himself. " _Listen, Kris, since we heard about what was going on, we've been using EXO's satellites to look at what's going in Orre. It hasn't been officially reported by Orre authorities, but we think Cozmo has been kidnapped_."

Kris sighed. "Yeah, the mayor of Phenac told us as much, but I wasn't sure whether to trust him or not."

Catching that, Wes piped in. "So it's true… hey, guys!" he shouted so as to be heard on the other end. "Can you see who took him?"

" _We've gotten some police chatter_ ," Blaine said, Kris holding the phone closer to Wes and Lunick so they could hear. " _They don't know the identity of the kidnappers, but they're on the trail of a large convoy of trucks that just suddenly disappeared._ _We've been using the satellites to_ _try to_ _hunt them down ever since._ "

" _All of you, please be careful_!" Elm chimed. " _The police's grip on Orre is extremely weak. Once you venture out of the cities and into the desert, you're pretty much on your own._ "

"Aren't we all, when it comes down to it!" Lunick boasted. "We'll protect you, Kris! Isn't that right, Wesley?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Wes muttered. "But maybe instead listen to _my_ instructions so no one needs protectin'. Again, I used to live here!"

"Not that I care about any of you, but you might want to see to that rumbling sound I keep hearing," Blake Hall suddenly said.

Kris, Wes and Lunick fell silent and listened. Indeed, the sound Kris had earlier had gotten only stronger. Squinting, Lunick pointed at the horizon.

"Kris, over there!" he shouted.

Kris' vision wasn't quite as good, especially under the blistering sun, but thanks to the camera on her PokéGear and its zoom function, she could see better: a large dust cloud in the horizon, and the shape of something approaching.

"Looks like a car," Kris muttered.

As it gained closer, Kris was able to describe what she saw better. "It's like a dune buggy, like with no doors, windows, panels or anything, just a cage-like thing."

"Like a sandrail?" Wes asked.

"Yeah, that! Two people in it, plus a third one standing up. They have red and black clothing I think."

"Crapola..." Wes muttered.

"Friends of yours?" Lunick asked.

"Team Snagem Grunts," Wes said and quickly put everything back on the bike. "I doubt they're here for a fun cruise. They must have been tipped off that we're coming for them or something."

"I doubt your bike can outrun a sandrail, especially with four people," Hall taunted. "There's three of them and three of you, what are you so afraid of?"

" _You_ better be afraid of getting dumped on the desert if you don't shut up!" Wes snapped as he hopped on the bike. "C'mon, Kris!"

"He's right," Kris said. "They're much faster than us. And I need some answers."

"I'm right with you!" Lunick boasted and grabbed a Poké Ball. "I think I'll use Scep-"

"Wait!" Kris snapped. "I know someone who's right in their element here. If they see a big Pokémon right away, they'll attack without a question. But I doubt they wanna do that right away. They wouldn't be just driving straight towards us if they did."

Kris opened a Poké Ball of her own, sending her little Sandshrew out. Surprised by the sun, Shrew had to rub its eyes to get adjusted. Kris gave the Pokémon a few seconds before giving her orders. As Kris did so, Wes and Lunick got their Poké Balls ready, though they didn't actually send anything out yet.

With Kris' orders done, Shrew disappeared under the sand as Kris, Wes and Lunick stood in a row next to the bike. A few seconds later, the Team Snagem car pulled over only about fifteen feet away from them. The two bald Snagem thugs just stared at them menacingly, but the third one standing on the car, jumped down and smiled jovially. He was taller than the others, with a full head of black hair and an impressive black mustache.

"Greetings and salutations, Kris!" he said boisterously. "Bet you thought you had seen the last of me, huh?!"

"...I have no idea who you are," Kris deadpanned.

"Fool!" the man yelled. "Mask your fear by feigning ignorance all you want! Surely you remember your greatest rival?"

Kris just shook her head.

The man sighed and rubbed his temples. "Okay, picture me in a Team Rocket uniform," he said. "And _do_ try to contain your excitement at that _sensual_ mental image."

Kris focused, doing what the man said – and it suddenly dawned on her. The guy had pestered her all through Johto and Sinnoh, first as a rogue Team Rocket grunt, then as a freelancer. It was Missile, who had a strange obsession with Kris, fired from Team Rocket due to just being a general pain in the neck.

"Right, right, now I remember," Kris said casually. "Cool."

Missile sighed. "As insolent as ever!" he said loudly. "But today, your attitude will change from in-your-face to in-the-ground!"

Missile's two henchmen groaned at that.

"Silence!" Missile yelled at them. "Anyway, I am currently an elite commander in Team Snagem, the group that treats me like I deserve. We were informed of a group of Cipher spies attempting to trespass on our territory! Who would have thought I'd get to meet my old friend, Kris!"

"Cipher spies?!" Wes exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

Missile ignored Wes, as he bowed next to one of his henchmen. The bald thug whispered something into Missile's ear that made his mustache twitch.

"You sure?" he asked the thug. "My, my… so not only do I get to destroy my hated enemy-"

"You just called me old friend," Kris interrupted incredulously.

"- _and_ weed out the Cipher spies, but we see you're traveling with the fugitive Blake Hall," Missile finished. "No doubt attempting to hand him to your leader. But there's a bounty on that man's head, which means we're taking it! Body, we can give or take."

"C'mon, Missile," Kris said. "You always acted so mighty about being honorable and whatnot. Was that just an act?"

"No," Missile shrugged. "But we really need the money. Get them!"

 _Well, I tried_ , Kris thought.

"NOW!" she yelled.

Rising from under the sand, Shrew quickly curled into a ball and propelled itself into the air, hitting Missile's gut and sending him tumbling to the ground. The Snagem thugs were so shocked and slow to react that Wes and Lunick managed to send out their Pokémon, Zebstrika and Sceptile. With their combined strength and Wes and Lunick ordering them, the two Pokémon flipped over the sandrail while the Snagem Grunts scuttled out of the car in fear. Meanwhile Shrew kept scratching Missile's chest and face, not too deep to draw blood but enough to keep him a screaming mess on the ground.

"Shrew, back!" Kris yelled as Wes revved on the bike and Lunick hopped into the sidecar. As Wes and Lunick withdrew their Pokémon, Shrew ran back into Kris' arms. "Go!" Kris yelled at Wes as she jumped behind him.

The bike ran off, Kris and friends on board, Kris looking behind her as she held on to Shrew as tight as she could. Missile was already back on his feet, yelling at his underlings as they lifted the car back up. How much time had they actually won in the first place?

"Now I remember that guy!" Wes yelled over the wind as he rode through the sand. "How does he _still_ have a grudge against you?!"

"I expected you to explain what he meant by 'Cipher spies' ", Kris pointed out.

"Last I heard, Team Snagem was doing work for them," Wes said. "I have no idea what's happen – what?!"

Kris, Lunick and Blake Hall soon noticed what Wes had seen. Two small navy blue drone-like things hovered over their heads, most likely using the same levitating technology as the bike they were riding. And immediately thereafter, a much larger, pure white drone cast a shadow over them as it whirred above. Shrew shivered and sank its claws into Kris' jacket in terror.

"Aww nuts," Wes groaned. "It's Cipher!"

Lunick, who sounded the most concerned, had his voice break as he squealed: "I'm so confused! What do those do?!"

"I don't know!" Wes snapped. "They didn't have those when I was still here!"

The group got their answer soon. One of the smaller, navy blue drones dropped a black object the size of a soda can, and Wes didn't waste time aggressively steering the bike out of its way, the force almost knocking Kris off the bike.

"Sorry!" Wes yelled, but it was drowned out by a modest explosion that the object caused, sending sand flying everywhere.

"This isn't how I imagined to go!" Hall said, loud enough to be heard but surprisingly calmly.

"The smaller ones must be unmanned!" Wes deduced. "The big one is most likely controlling the other two. Hold on tight!"

And indeed, as Wes predicted, several dozen feet above the bike, inside the large, white drone, were two people. Controlling the drone was Ein, Cipher's lead scientist, a young man with long, dark hair and sunglasses wearing an unusual lab coat with a huge collar. Next to him was Venus, a woman with long, brown hair on braids, clad in layers of pink silk. This former idol singer and mercenary was currently one of Cipher's high-ranking admins.

"Ein, you idiot!" Venus taunted the scientist and flicked him on the forehead, disregarding the fact that he was busy piloting. "Your machines failed!"

The scientist bit his tongue as he continued maneuvering the drone with one hand while typing commands on a laptop with the other. The second unmanned drone hovered above Wes' bike.

"Fire," Ein said calmly, and Venus pressed a button on a switch she had.

However, once again, the drone's bomb missed its target as Wes had predicted its timing and swerved out of the way, the bomb sinking into the sand and exploding pointlessly.

"Whoever he is, he has surprisingly good reflexes," Ein analyzed. "Not to mention nerves of steel, not moving out of the way immediately."

"That's Wesley for you~" Venus cooed as she licked her lips excitedly. "That cute little boy has become a man, just like Nascour said! This'll be fun~!"

"Sending the drones back to base," Ein said, pressing a few buttons that made the unmanned drones turn back. "We still have a payload of explosives and the weapon you had installed. Which would you like to try first, ma'am?"

But Venus was busy looking behind her in the 360-view of the drone's cockpit. She could clearly see Missile and the two Snagem thugs catching up to Wes and the others in their sandrail, which made her smile.

"Team Snagem's ruffians have got some reinforcements, I see~" she giggled. "Soon they'll catch up to poor Wesley."

"What a fool," Ein mused. "Does he not realize that shedding the excess weight will vastly improve his chances of surviving?"

"That's not how he thinks," Venus said. "No matter how much he's grown, he still needs other people to make it. I don't recognize anyone else there except Hall, though. Let's try to get him alive. Maybe not in one piece, but alive. We should also wait for those Snagem fools to get closer..."

Back on the ground, Kris was desperately spotting for something, anything to hide in. A killer drone and a crazy, obsessed criminal both pursuing them was _not_ something she wanted to deal with while searching for Cozmo. But there was nothing but sand no matter where she looked. Until…

"There!" Kris yelled and pointed to her left, seeing two tall pipes peeking behind some dunes. "Chimneys! There's gotta be a house or a factory or something there!"

"Can't be!" Wes protested. "There's _nothin'_ out here before the mountains!

"Just turn this thing!" Kris yelled. "If either one of those catches up to us we're done for!"

A loud humming noise suddenly drowned Kris' shouting out as the white drone above them descended, getting closer and closer. Meanwhile, the engines of Missile's sandrail got closer as well. Kris, Lunick and Hall looked above them as they saw the drone opening a hatch, being surprised by a brown-haired woman covering half her face with a pink silk veil waving at them.

"Yoo-hoo, Wes~!" she called, Wes looking over his shoulder and crying out in panic.

"Venus!" he yelled. "Damn it, can't we just throw Hall overboard?!"

"We at least agree on something!" Lunick said.

"I have something for you!" Venus yelled, suddenly pointing a large, futuristic-looking cannon at them.

Wes squinted. "What the-"

Laughing maniacally, Venus fired the cannon at the ground between the bike and Missile's car. A pink flash of light ensued, followed by a shockwave that flipped Missile's car around again while the engines on the bike suddenly died and Wes lost his balance. Kris, Shrew, Wes, Lunick and Hall were all thrown out of the bike and on the sand, sparks flying from the bike's engine as it crashed on the sand.

It took a few seconds for Kris to recover, with Shrew frantically pushing her. Her ears were ringing and it was hard to regain her balance, but she somehow got herself up fast enough to see the white drone turn around, no doubt coming for a second round.

Wes and Lunick were still dizzy but Hall had recovered amazingly fast, though with his arms bound, he struggled to get up.

"We got hit by an EMP!" Hall groaned. "That and some kind of blast wave strong enough to topple us over. Someone friggin' help me up!"

Lunick walked over to Hall, harshly lifted him up and cut his ropes with his knife, Hall flinching as the arm almost cut into him.

"Good thinking," Kris praised Lunick before turning to her Sandshrew. "Shrew, did you those chimneys? Can you smell any place where we can hide?"

Shrew nodded frantically and started running. The others followed without hesitation, Hall following the group with no place to go. Meanwhile, a bit further away, Missile struggled to get up.

"Minions!" he barked. "Get out your Pokémon and help me lift the-"

But the Snagem thugs couldn't hear as they were well on their way, running into the opposite direction, not caring at all about what happened to Missile. Grunting, Missile looked the other way: Kris' group were still following Sandshrew westward, visible in the distance. Cursing all the way, Missile ran after the group, not even letting the drone ominously following Kris and her friends to get in the way.

The drone's PA system suddenly activated, and Venus' voice blared through, echoing all over the desert.

" _Hi, everyone, it's me, your Veeee-nuuus~_ " she sang. " _Everyone's Venus, that's me! I'm talking directly to you, Wesley!"_

Wes, who was running for his life, didn't turn to look, but muttered panicked curses under his breath.

" _It's nothing personal_ ," Venus continued, " _but the Grand Master wants you_ _and your friends_ _,_ _hmm… pulverized? Mashed up? Something like that. Arrivederci_!"

"Scatter!" Kris shouted, with her, Wes, Lunick and Hall running into separate directions as Shrew kept on running forward, being much faster with its four legs than the humans. Venus dropped the bomb, but the gang had managed to run far enough away that the small explosion didn't even affect them.

" _Mmm, nicely done~_ " Venus cooed. " _Let's see how long you can keep that up_!"

As soon as she had heard the explosion, Kris continued to run up the hill to follow Shrew. As she reached the top of the dune she was climbing, the shock caused her to stop for a second to take it in:

The chimneys weren't from a house or a factory, but a huge ship, most likely for cargo, partially submerged in sand, abandoned in the middle of nowhere. There was a huge hole in the hull and the name of the ship, "S.S. Libra", was still mostly visible in huge, white letters.

Shaking it off, Kris ran towards the ship, seeing the others do the same but keeping their distance so it would be harder to target them. The drone, however, continued to hover above them like a UFO ready to whisk them to be probed.

" _It's no u_ _uu-se_ ~" Venus sang. " _I have more than one bomb in store. Even if you split up, I'll just have to drop one on all of you individually. Starting wiiiiith… oh, what am I saying, of course Wesley gets the honor. Here's a little gift from your Venus_!"

Wes, who was panting as he ran for his life, painfully stumbling across the hot sand, looked up to see the drone appear above him. Out of options and blinded by fear, Wes just dived and covered his head with his hands as a hatch in the drone opened.

But the bomb it dropped exploded mid-air as a bolt of lightning struck it from afar. Wes stood up to see Lunick and his Luxray standing in position, waving at him. Although he wanted to cry out of gratitude and fear, Wes just nodded and kept on running, Lunick and Luxray doing the same. Shrew was already waiting at the large hole in the hull, but as Kris ran towards it, she realized something – as everyone would convene at the large hole, they would be prime targets for the drone.

Lunick seemed to have thought the same, as he ordered Luxray to use Thunderbolt on the drone. But the drone maneuvered out of the way, rising higher to be out of attack range. With no other recourse, everyone just ran towards the hole in the hull in desperation, clinging to the hope that they would outrun the drone and its incoming bomb.

But before Venus could drop a third bomb, a blue ball of energy shot off from the hole in the ship and rocketed towards the drone, once again detonating the bomb uselessly mid-air. Another energy sphere soon followed, and even though the drone successfully dodged it, the sphere suddenly turned mid-air and came back, hitting the drone and causing it to shake violently.

Inside the drone, Ein tried to keep the drone up while Venus kept whacking him with her microphone.

"Get-" she yelled, punctuating every word with a blow. "Us-out-of-here!"

"Y… yes, ma'am," Ein said through gritted teeth, wanting to kick the diva out of the drone. "But before we go, I would like to send a passing gift to ensure we can still do our job!"

Venus glanced out of the drone. Kris and her friends had already gotten inside the shipwreck.

"We don't have enough explosives to pierce that hull, you idiot!" she chastised Ein.

"Not with explosives, Lady Venus," Ein said with barely contained patience. "That ship was bringing Pokémon to Orre about a week ago. Our little… _experiment_ was supposed to bring it to us, but it dropped it in the middle of the desert instead. Fortunately for us, the cargo is still working fine… and just in need of a little push."

Ein pulled a lever that opened another hatch, but instead of a bomb, hundreds of little, bug-sized robots flew out and into the direction of the S.S. Libra. Venus first watched this ensue in confusion before smiling and licking her lips.

"Bye bye, Wesley~" she cooed as the drone began to fly away.

 **~o~O~o~**

Inside the S.S. Libra, Kris, Shrew, Wes, Lunick, Lunick's Luxray and Blake Hall suddenly found their exit cut off as something pushed a large wooden crate, big enough to block the hole, into the way. Despite the crate and its contents probably weighing almost a ton, whatever did it had enough strength left to disappear and then suddenly reappear in front of the group.

It was a blue and black bipedal canine-like Pokémon who stared at the group like it intended to attack them.

"It's a Lucario," said a soft voice appearing from the darkness. "Her name is Jackal. And don't worry, she won't attack you… unless you agitate her. Or try to mess with her Aura."

Kris recognized the voice, but couldn't quite pin it down. Lunick and Hall were clearly just confused but Wes gasped audibly and Shrew ran from Kris and jumped into the arms of the source of the voice who emerged from the shadows: a boyish-looking, green-eyed blonde-haired girl hiding her short hair under a big straw hat.

"Hello everyone," Yellow said. "I'm glad you're safe."


	9. Gotta Snag 'Em All

**Chapter** **Nine** **: "** _ **Gotta Snag 'Em All**_ **"**

Inside the abandoned ship S.S. Libra, Kris and company were face-to-face with Yellow, though no one spoke a word or made a sound besides Shrew who had jumped into Yellow's arms and was nuzzling against her. Jackal the Lucario was still glaring at the group pointedly, its other "hand" in a fist surrounded by a blue aura.

"Jackal, you can stop," Yellow told the Lucario in a soothing voice. "These are our friends. Could you please check the deck to see if it's sealed? I think Cipher has given up but you can never be too sure."

When Jackal left, Wes, who had known Yellow since the Navel Rock incident almost a year ago, was the first to speak up.

"Well, much as I wanna know what the heck is happenin' here," he said, "I have to say, _thank you_ , Yellow!"

"It was nothing," Yellow replied calmly. "And I'll explain everything I can. Is any one of you hurt?"

"Now that you mention it," Hall started, "I think I ingested sand when that country yokel crashed our bike. Is the soil here radioactive or anything? Should I worry about-"

"We're all fine!" Lunick interrupted and shoved Hall away. "Kris, if you don't mind, I think we should restrain this man again, now that the worst is over."

"Yeah, I agree," Kris said, giving Lunick a quick glance, though she found it hard to take her eyes off Yellow.

When Lunick started dragging Hall away, Lunick's Luxray began to whimper as it brushed itself against Lunick's leg. Lunick just shooed it away impatiently as he continued walking, clearly with a limp.

"You're hurt!" Yellow gasped as she saw it too and ran to Lunick.

"It's not broken, just twisted, most likely," Lunick insisted. "I have to get this scumbag restrained first."

"Lunick!" Kris snapped. "Society has progressed in three hundred years, you know. We're not a pack of Lycanroc who abandon the wounded member as a burden. We're friggin' human beings and I have no time for any macho crap, now let her look at your leg."

Sighing but also smiling at Kris' ranting, Lunick let Hall off his grip and sat down on the nearest crate, clearly relieved to be off his feet. Yellow felt different parts of Lunick's leg and foot, until deducing the problem was in the ankle – which didn't exactly require a medical degree as Lunick groaned in pain when Yellow touched his ankle.

"Yes, indeed, you found it!" Lunick grunted. "So, do you have a first aid kit of some kind in here?"

Yellow smiled shyly. "Not quite," she said quietly. "I need you to trust me with this one."

"Huh?"

"Do as she says, Lunick," Kris said.

Trusting Kris' words, Lunick complied, but his resigned expression soon turned to that of amazement as Yellow merely held her hands above Lunick's ankle, which suddenly emitted a slight glow. Kris and Wes just nodded at him encouragingly, so Lunick stayed still for the next twenty seconds. After that, Yellow was done, but as she tried to stand up, she almost collapsed. Wes quickly rushed to grab her before she fell on the floor.

Seeing this reminded Kris of something from a few months ago. It was back when she and the others were about to go fight Cyrus on Mt. Coronet. That's when she had first met Yellow, who clearly knew about Kris long before Kris knew anything about her. To make sure Kris would be prepared for Cyrus, Yellow had given all of Kris' Pokémon a temporary power boost, something that allowed her Pokémon to achieve Mega Evolution without any stones.

Kris would kill for that kind of power again, but seeing Yellow get shaky just by using her inexplicable powers to heal a minor injury made Kris think twice.

"Are you okay?" Wes asked Yellow as he helped her stand. "And for the record, I'm fine, I don't need no help!"

"Everything is fine," Yellow said drowsily. "However, I have been hiding here for days, so I may have been weakened just by that. Really, that wasn't much work for me."

Lunick, who had been marveling just by the fact that he could stand without being in pain, was now staring at Yellow with a mix of respect and fear.

"How did you do this?" he asked Yellow. "W-what are you?"

"Rude, bro," Wes said. "It's ' _Who_ ' are you. Also ' _thanks for healing me_ ' works."

"Lunick, relax," Kris agreed, taking Lunick by the hand. "She's a friend. I don't exactly know how it works either, but she's the real thing."

"I'm kind of piecing it together myself," Yellow smiled. "I hear it's because I'm one of the last people born in Viridian Forest, though I know that neither of my parents had abilities to this extent. Maybe it skipped a few generations or maybe I was born lucky. Either way, I have to use my gifts to make this world a better place."

"After the thing with Cyrus, I tried to contact you," Wes told Yellow. "I wanted to know if I had accomplished my mission. You told me long ago that my destiny was to help Kris and that defeating Cyrus would be the way. But now I hear that the prophecy isn't even close to being fulfilled."

Kris groaned. "Here we go again with prophecies and destiny," she deadpanned. "Don't get me wrong, I want to know too, that's why I'm here, but you can't let it go to your head like this. Nothing is set in stone."

"I'm here to study the prophecy," Yellow said to stop the argument, "and I think I can shed a bit more light on it. Do you want to hear?"

Everyone gathered into a circle on the floor as Yellow took out a large piece of paper from her bag, followed by an old-fashioned ink bottle and a quill from some bird Pokémon. She then drew a circle on the paper as the others watched.

"The prophecy, called the Sinjoh Prophecy by some due to it originating on the Sinjoh Ruins," Yellow narrated, "tells a story about the ultimate fate of our world. The world populated by Pokémon. The prophecy was discovered over a thousand years ago by a religious sect that worshiped Arceus, the Original One, as the sole creator of all things. It chronicled the entire story of the world as we know it, from its birth at Arceus' million hands to its ultimate destination. However, the prophecy was written in a language unfamiliar to the sect at the time, meaning it was interpreted in many different ways. Two of the most popular interpretations have been cited to be the most accurate ones, both arguing that there is no 'end' to the story as it is, but a rebirth. How that rebirth occurs, however, is debated."

Yellow drew a stick figure on the map, decorating it with a robe and a crown, Kris stifling her laughter at the naive illustrations.

"The worshipers of Arceus believe that the ongoing feud for supremacy between human and Pokémon will be ended by the Transcendent One," Yellow continued. "Many humans over the course of history have been called that, but most argue that so far, the right candidate, the one that represents all of the seven holy virtues, has not been found."

"The worshipers of Giratina, however," Yellow continued and drew a sort of ellipse underneath the circle representing the world, "the Circle of the Torn World, they believe that the current bond between humans and Pokémon is abhorrent against the true ruler of the world. In their eyes, only a select few humans and Pokémon can exist. They believe that-"

"A herald will bring forth Giratina's return, yes, I told these brats this already," Hall interrupted rudely. "But please continue if you intend to actually surprise me with anything."

Yellow didn't seem phased. "The details of the prophecy have been scattered all over the world, though most have been excavated and put into the vaults of private collectors, museums or research institutes. The Circle is doing their best to find and keep these parts of the prophecy for themselves. There's of course several ruins in Hoenn," Yellow drew a point in the map, "and then there's the Sinjoh Ruins," she drew another point. "Recently in Orre, the Pokémon HQ Laboratory search party led by the visiting professor Cozmo found some here," she drew yet another point. "That's why, as I'm sure you've heard, Cipher went after him. Though I think there might be other reasons as well. Finally, for now anyways, there are several places on the Sevii Islands," Yellow drew several dots bunched together, "that I believe are untouched. But I don't doubt that they're already looking for these."

"Red is out there, most likely hiding from people who want him silenced," Yellow continued. "He's well on his way to expose if members of the Circle have infiltrated the ranks of the Pokémon League and get the truth to the people. I'm combining every piece of data from the prophecy that I can find, but I could sure use your help."

"Of course!" Kris said. "I have a feeling if we decode this prophecy, we'll be able to prevent anything like the Cyrus incident happening again."

 _And I get an eternity of glory_ , Kris thought, but couldn't hide her grin, which made Yellow confused.

Before Kris had to explain anything, however, a loud thump came from the blocked hole in the hull. Some muffled voices coming from outside followed by high-pitched screeching.

" _Victreebel, Acid_!" a voice on the other side shouted.

The next thing the group knew, powerful acid had dissolved a huge hole in the wooden crate blocking the way, the hole slowly becoming big enough for a large Victreebel and its owner, Missile, to come through.

By the time he was through, however, Lunick's Luxray had returned to his side and Wes had sent out his Ninetales while Kris did the same with her Chandelure. Even outgunned three-to-one, Missile looked awfully confident.

"Haha!" he laughed. "Cipher attacked you, so you must be spies!"

"...by what logic?" Kris deadpanned, not feeling too afraid when Missile had no one backing him up.

"See, they were trying _sooo_ hard to make it look like they were about to kill you," Missile reasoned with his finger raised academically, "a little _too_ hard for my liking. Clearly they missed you every time on purpose!"

Kris groaned in frustration while Lunick raised an eyebrow at Missile.

"Where are your men?" Lunick asked.

"Missile only needs one man," Missile said proudly. "No, scratch that, Missile doesn't _need_ anyone or anything, but _should_ there be an event that would require a man, then only one could fill that-"

"Yeah, enough of this, they bailed!" Wes snapped. "Ninetales, Flamethr-"

But before anyone could attack, something zoomed past Kris, Wes, Lunick and their Pokémon, and as fast as anyone could blink, Jackal the Lucario had already lifted the much larger Victreebel over its head. Screeching and struggling, the Victreebel was thrown out of the ship, only to be transformed into a Ditto mid-air.

"Ha!" Missile exclaimed as he suddenly a threw a Poké Ball inside. "Bamboozled yet again!"

Missile's real Victreebel came out of the ball, but was swiftly paralyzed by Luxray's Thunder Wave and then knocked out by a dual-flamethrower from Kris' Chandelure and Wes' Ninetails. But as this happened, Missile sneaked inside and lunged at Kris.

"It's ooooveeeeer~!" Missile yelled theatrically, which naturally caught Kris' attention and caused her to step out of the way while Lunick grabbed Missile's arms and pinned him down.

In seconds, the once-tough thug was now a whimpering mess on the floor.

"Hey, cut it out!" he cried as Lunick held him in a grip. "I wasn't gonna hurt her! I just wanted to take him hostage to make Cipher agree to our demands or some _owwww_!"

"For the last time!" Kris groaned. "We are not working for this Cipher group, meaning I'm about as useful to you as a sweater, _because you, sir, have no chill_!"

"But…" Missile complained. "We received a tip! And who else would venture into the desert like this! You were going to figure out the location of our last base and pass it on to Cipher so they can finish us off!"

"You just admitted your current base is your last, dummy!" Wes laughed.

"I'm kinda morbidly curious how you ended up joining Team Snagem," Kris said, "but then again I already know about their low standards."

"Hey!" Wes protested.

Missile looked at Wes. "You mean to say… you once worked for us too?"

"Well before they took freaks like you along," Wes said. "I blew up their old base, too!"

"That's not what you should be interested in," Lunick said roughly and twisted Missile's wrist which made him yell in pain. "Who tipped you about us? Who?!"

Kris put her hand on Lunick's arm in concern, making him ease up a little bit.

"Just tell us," Kris told Missile, though she already had an idea.

"It was an anonymous tip," Missile admitted. "But whoever it was knows a _lot_ , even your detailed coordinates. From there, it was easy to extrapolate your route and ambush you."

"As long as you're here you might as well answer us this!" Lunick said and knelt on Missile's back. "Where did you take professor Cozmo?"

Missile hacked and gasped for air as Lunick took his knee off. "Literally _who_?!" Missile coughed. "Kris, who is this jerk, and why do I keep imagining him in a Crusader outfit in my mind?"

"You saying Team Snagem wasn't the one who kidnapped him?" Kris asked. "This happened just a few days ago. How long have you been a member?"

"A whole month," Missile said proudly. "And we haven't kidnapped anyone! Um, any human, anyway. Like, is this Cozmo a new Pokémon or something cause I _swear_ I can't keep up with all the species that keep-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Kris sighed and looked at Wes. "This is a bit hard to say, but I think you were right."

"He is right," Yellow spoke up. "Cipher were the ones who got him."

Everyone turned to look at Yellow, who became a lot more bashful with all attention on her.

"I've heard stories, um…" Yellow stumbled. "Jackal kind of, um, told me."

"Damn it, so Mayor McBeefHuge sold us out!" Wes cursed. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted that old Eggman-looking ass. You think he's running the show?"

"Didn't that Venus chick say the Grand Master had ordered her?" Kris remembered.

Blake Hall laughed darkly as he leaned against a crate. "That makes perfect sense," he said. "Team Dim Sun isn't the only gang the Grand Master has bought. Figures he has influence in Orre as well."

"Do you know why?" Kris asked Yellow.

Yellow nodded. "Unfortunately I do," she said grimly. "It's the reason why I'm on this ship. They-"

Yellow paused and looked at Jackal. She was glowing blue with aura again and was growling at something at the staircase leading to the upper decks.

Yellow's expression became tense. "So they're coming," she said.

"I hear it too," Lunick said and pulled out his knife. "Sounds like a group of people coming down here."

"Worse than that," Yellow said seriously. "I hope you're ready to fight some more."

Kris got an answer to a question she didn't even have time to voice as the doors were slammed open by a Gurdurr, a bulky gray fighting-type carrying a large girder. But this Gurdurr's eyes were almost milky white, the pupils grayed out almost completely, and it was drooling like it had rabies. Without hesitation, it tossed the girder at the group, though Jackal managed to block it and send it flying into a bunch of crates.

Gurdurr wasn't alone, as it was followed by two more of its kind, then followed by a massive influx of Pokémon looking just like it: nearly pupil-less eyes, drooling and slowly making their way towards the group, teeth exposed and forearms extended if they had any. There were Rattata, Raticate, Growlithe, Houndour, Poochyena, Mightyena, Machop, Machoke, Geodude, Graveler and a ton of other Pokémon of low-to-mid levels.

"Everybody retreat," Yellow advised, and no one wasted time rushing out of the ship through the hole Missile created. Missile himself, confused when Lunick was no longer holding him, quickly realized to do the same after returning his Victreebel and Ditto.

However, outside, what expected them was much worse than the twenty or so Pokémon waiting at the ship. Dozens of similar Pokémon, all looking deranged, were slowly closing in on the group. On top of that, there were several flying Pokémon like Pidgeotto and Pelipper as well as Pokémon like Cacturne, Diglett, Dugtrio and Sandile emerging from the desert sand.

Wes seemed to come to a realization. "Kris!" he barked. "Do you still have the Aura Reader you were using back in Kanto, when we were fighting Cyrus?"

Kris had indeed kept hers, though she couldn't quite remember why and how – from what she understood, it was a valuable piece of technology, albeit with limited use. As she put the small scanner-like device on her ear and adjusted its screen on her right eye, she suddenly saw the advancing Pokémon in a much more different light.

All of them had a black and purple aura emanating from them, but one that was invisible to naked eye.

"They're surrounded by some kinda dark aura-thing," Kris summarized the best she could. "Do you know something about this?!"

"I haven't seen one before but I had a feeling," Wes said darkly.

"These are shadow Pokémon," Yellow explained, Kris realizing that Yellow could most likely see the auras fine without an Aura Reader. "It's why I'm at this ship. Cipher has transformed these Pokémon into fighting machines that have no emotions, no needs and no morality. They'll fight and kill, humans and other Pokémon alike, until their bodies wear out."

"Cursed Cipher!" Missile exclaimed as if he was some kind of paragon of justice. "This is why at Team Snagem wholeheartedly oppose them and-"

"The reason why they obtained so many Pokémon to begin with was thanks to Team Snagem," Yellow continued. "But they weren't producing fast enough, so they decided to ambush a cargo ship full of Pokémon instead."

"But how could it end up here?!" Wes wondered.

"I don't know," Yellow said.

"So what do we do?" Kris asked. "I don't particularly want to hurt these things but I appreciate my life more than I do theirs!"

"Yes… it is a shame, but we must do what we can for the sake of survival."

"Chandelure, take five," Kris said and withdrew the ghost-type. "Gardevoir, go!"

Kris instead sent out the second-strongest Pokémon she had at the moment, with Snorlax and Honchkrow both at Elm's lab for the time being. The graceful psychic-type assumed a fighting stance in front of Kris, but seemed a bit confused by the situation – hordes of Pokémon with no trainers surrounding them. Shrew, who had been by Yellow's side thus far, assumed a fighting stance next to the Gardevoir.

"Thanks, Shrew," Kris praised. "Gardevoir, I know they're not Pokémon with trainers, but we gotta protect ourselves!"

Wes' Ninetales and Lunick's Luxray didn't waste time in getting to work, using Flamethrower and Thunderbolt to keep the shadow Pokémon at bay. Jackal, in the meantime, got up close and physical, creating a bone-shaped club out of pure energy that it beat the Pokémon to submission with. Yellow herself sat on the sand, closed her eyes and raised her arms in concentration.

"Shrew, Sand-Attack!" Kris yelled when a feral shadow Raticate got too close, and Shrew blinded the Pokémon by tossing sand in its face. "Good, now Gardevoir, use Psychic to finish it off!"

Gardevoir prepared for the attack, but after a moment of hesitation, lowered its arms and just stared at the struggling shadow Pokémon.

"Gardevoir, what's wrong?!" Kris snapped. "Don't tell me you're gonna start acting up again?!"

Gardevoir didn't respond, it just closed its eyes and stood there. Kris ordered Shrew to take out the Raticate with a Slash attack while she withdrew Gardevoir. She'd have to get to the bottom of this disobedience later.

Meanwhile, Missile had joined the fight by sending out his Beedrill, which fought the shadow Pokémon advancing from above. It managed to use Poison Jab to take out two Pidgeotto and a Dustox thanks to Missile's quick reactions.

But in the ensuing confusion, one person was actively not participating in the conflict. While everyone else focused on the shadow Pokémon, Blake Hall was slowly stumbling away, sinking into the sand with every other step.

"Hey!" Kris yelled. "Hall!"

Hearing this, Hall stepped up and began running. While Shrew was fighting a Krokorok that had just emerged from the sand, Kris chased after Hall, but stopped when he heard a panicked cry from behind her.

Missile's Beedrill had been defeated by the sheer numbers of the shadow Pokémon and a Pelipper was swooping down towards Missile himself, who had stumbled and fell trying to run away. The Pelipper's large beak was wide open, as if it was trying to chow Missile down with one bite. Throwing concern for Hall out of the window, Kris turned around, and without thinking, grabbed the only weapon she had, her bag, and rushed towards Missile.

Just as the shadow Pelipper was closing in on Missile, Kris whacked it as hard as she could with her bag. The one hit had Pelipper stunned for a while, giving enough time for Lunick to notice this and order his Luxray to use Thunderbolt on the Pelipper, knocking it out.

"You okay?" Kris asked Missile nonchalantly, mostly looking at how Shrew was doing.

Missile, on the other hand, had tears in his eyes as he grabbed Kris by the leg.

"Fair maiden!" he cried, confusing Kris. "You saved my life! And after I accused you of being a filthy Cipher spy!"

"Well, um..." Kris said awkwardly, trying to think of something clever to say as Missile hugged her leg. "You got the spy part wrong, at least. Uh… anyway, no problem, man..."

"Nonsense!" Missile exclaimed and suddenly stood up. "From this day on, I owe you a life debt, Kris! One that I can only repay with an act of equal magnitude!"

"...yeah, whatever," Kris said.

"There's no stopping them!" Wes cried out.

Kris looked around her. Wes' Ninetales had collapsed out of exhaustion, forcing Wes to withdraw it and send out his Espeon. Lunick and his Luxray were exhausted and even Jackal was slowing down despite having mowed down dozens of shadow Pokémon. And yet they kept on coming.

"Espeon, Reflect!" Wes ordered.

Espeon put up a psychic barrier to stop some of the shadow Pokémon, but it only covered very little ground, with plenty of other shadow Pokémon just going around it while others kept on raining from the sky. Wes took a break to take out Umbreon's Poké Ball, but was suddenly shocked by a spark of electricity: a green, cuboid bug Pokémon Wes hadn't seen before crawled out from under the sand, electricity sparkling around it. Wes had developed quite a resistance to being shocked, but still couldn't withstand a fully charged electric shock from a Pokémon.

"Wesley!" Lunick shouted, ran to Wes and pushed him out of the way as the bug Pokémon fired another shock, this one missing and hitting another shadow Pokémon instead. Wes sent out his Sceptile, which swiftly took care of the bug by picking it up and throwing it away as hard as it could.

"That was close!" Lunick gasped as he helped Wes stand up. "That was a Charjabug, a Pokémon they imported from an island region around here. They're sneaky little things, we dealt with a few of them at the Ranger Union."

"Uh… yeah, thanks," Wes said as he tried to get sand out of his hair. "But how are we gonna keep this up! How many Pokémon were in that ship?"

"Anywhere between five hundred and a thousand," said Yellow, who had finally stopped meditating and stood up. "Everyone!" she shouted suddenly. "Gather around me, quick!"

Everyone ran to Yellow and huddled in a ring around her. Kris had long since stopped doubting anything she could do and just watched in awe as Yellow extended her arms outwards. This was followed by a blast of air heading to every direction, knocking back the advancing shadow Pokémon. Then, as if they had all just seen something horrifying, the shadow Pokémon began retreating back into the ship, some almost desperately scattering away.

Finally, after all the shadow Pokémon apart from the unconscious ones had left the area, Yellow dropped her arms and almost fell, but was caught just in time by Wes and Jackal. A nasty glare from the Lucario made Wes let go of her, but Yellow's eyes were still open and she was still breathing.

"I'm fine," she told Jackal. "I'm fine."

Lunick, on the other hand, was not. He was shaking all over as he stared at Yellow. Missile, despite presumably not seeing Yellow before, seemed to accept this quite easily, immediately going for his downed Beedrill and using a Potion on it.

"That should keep them there for a few hours more," Yellow said quietly, still getting herself together. "But I'm afraid you can no longer take shelter in this ship. It's not safe."

"So what should we do then?" Kris asked.

"Well, we at least know who to look for if we want to find Cozmo," Wes said as he and his Espeon walked amongst the unconscious bodies of the shadow Pokémon littered all over the desert. "Too bad there's no way we can ever take on Cipher."

"You are indeed enemies of Cipher?" Missile asked.

Lunick glared at him. "Why are you still here?!"

Missile ignored him, however, focusing on Kris. "In that case, I will gladly take you to see my boss, Gonzap, and put in the good word for you! Our lair should be just a stone throw's away!"

"How big of a stone?" Kris asked skeptically.

Missile shrugged. "Well, it's all relative. My stone's throw could be your, well, five-hour walk… but if need be, I'll carry you, because I owe you my life, dear Kr-"

"Yeah, okay, so if we want to get into any kind of shelter, that seems like our best bet," Kris said harshly as she looked westward – the sun was already beginning to set.

"You can't be serious!" Lunick yelled. "Are we going to make _friends_ with criminals now?"

"Lunick!" Kris snapped. "I have a plan, okay? Can you just please trust me? Besides, we already have an in – not only did Missile here agree to vouch for us, but we also have a former Team Snagem member here!"

Wes scratched his head, more sand falling out of his hair as he did so. "I dunno," he mumbled. "Gonzap isn't gonna be happy to see me after what I did, but we do need to get out of here, especially if Cipher really is after us."

"Cipher shouldn't be back in a while," Yellow said, joining the conversation after a while of talking to Jackal, "the shadow Pokémon on this ship must have been triggered by something the drone dropped on us. They'll most likely think the shadow Pokémon got us and send another drone later to inspect the damage. If you head out now, you should be fine, but just in case, Jackal has agreed to stay with you."

"Really?!" Wes exclaimed. "But it's your Lucario, we couldn't-"

"Not mine," Yellow said politely. "I befriended her as a Riolu back in Sinnoh. She was being tortured by Team Galactic. You remember, Wes? She evolved a few weeks ago and has been training by itself ever since. She'll do what I ask, but I consider her an equal, not a possession."

"But will you be fine on your own?" Kris asked – she had assumed Yellow would be joining them. "Does Cipher want something to do with you?"

"You mentioned this 'Grand Master' before, so I assume you know a little bit about him," Yellow said. "He's more interested in Red at the moment, so he won't try to kill me, as I'm the closest thing he has to a lead on his location. I'll keep focusing on my goal – searching for the ruins here in Orre for some answers to this prophecy."

After some hesitation, Yellow extended her hand for Kris to shake. "It was an honor to meet you again," she said quietly. "I think we'll meet again."

"Yeah, of course!" Kris said as she and Yellow shook hands – even in the desert heat, Yellow's hand felt cold. "I still have a lot of questions!"

"What about Hall?" Lunick asked. "Should we go after him?"

"I don't know how far he thinks he'll get in this desert, a wanted man and all," Wes pondered. "And to be honest, I think he told us most of what he knew."

"If I see him, I'll do what I can to bring him to justice," Yellow promised. "But I must leave now. Be well, all of you."

With that, Yellow went the other way while Kris, Wes, Lunick and Jackal began trekking north, following Missile to Team Snagem's supposed lair. Kris knew that Missile could have been faking everything and the gang could be walking into a trap, but either way, she'd be a bit closer to the enemy after this.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Four years ago…**_

 _ **Location: The Krabby Club, Gateon Port, Orre**_

In the thriving port city located in the southwest corner of Orre, Wes stepped into the infamous bar by the seaside. It was a red, two-story building shaped like a Krabby, neon signs hanging from the pincers. A gang of thugs was hanging outside the building, arguing loudly about something.

It was the day after the Vivillon heist. Wes and Rui had pulled it off. They had escaped the clutches of Venus and her hired help, sold the rare Pokémon to Gonzap and made a permanent contract with Team Snagem, becoming _de facto_ members of the gang. What Wes was about to do, he hadn't even told Rui – it was something he had to admit or he'd never be able to rest easy.

Making his way past the roughnecks and con artists convening in the bar, Wes walked over to the second floor, towards his target. There, sitting on a couch and enjoying the music below, sat an aging, short and completely bald man leaning against a cane – Mr. Verich. He was flanked by his two bodyguards who wore strange robes – one red and one blue, their hair colors corresponding to their clothes. Noticing Wes, Mr. Verich waved off his bodyguards and gestured at the 16-year old boy to sit on the couch opposite to him. Wes complied, but warily.

"I have to admire you," Verich said slowly, reaching over to grab a drink one of his bodyguards handed to him. "Coming here to face me after what you did couldn't have been easy."

"I came here to explain," Wes said quietly. "We, well, you and my associate, had an agreement. We were supposed to sell you the Vivillon. We backed out on it because it made the most business sense to do so. I heard you're a hardcore businessman so I'm sure you understand our motives. I just thought you deserved to know the truth."

Wes stopped talking and anticipated Verich's response, but the man just smiled serenely, eyes half-closed as he observed Wes. The longer the silence between the two continued, the more nervous it made Wes.

 _Why does this old fart who's half my size make me feel like this?_

When the silence kept going on, Wes had to break it: "I know this ain't giving you a good picture of Orre," he continued, "but it might be best to stick doing business in your own country-"

"I was born here, actually," Verich interrupted calmly. "This region is my home. I remember a time when wild Pokémon roamed freely around these parts."

Wes squinted. He wasn't aware there _was_ a time like that, and if there was, it had to be a _very_ long time ago.

"Even after leaving to amass my fortune, I've returned several times to help my home out," Verich said, "I even set up the mines that brought wealth to this region decades ago. The business may have collapsed, but the tunnel network still remains, meaning I know everything that goes on around here."

Wes really wanted to leave. Verich's tone hadn't become any more threatening, which unsettled Wes all the more.

"Thank you for your explanation, son," Verich said with a nod. "I hope your current business partnership is profitable."

Wes just nodded and quickly got up from the seat so he wouldn't reveal he was sweating. But before he got to the stairs, his path was blocked by three people: Venus, the brown-haired woman clad in pink silk; Miror B, a man with a gigantic Poké Ball -colored afro in a golden leisure suit and Nascour, a tall, gaunt man with serpentine white hair. Nascour was in the forefront, looking down on the shorter Wes in contempt.

"And were you going to tell anything about this arrangement to us?" Nascour asked Wes.

Though he was taken by surprise, Wes swallowed his fear as he stared back at Nascour. "Can you step aside, please?" he asked in a carefree tone.

Nascour sneered at Wes. "You know, I thought we were friends," he said quietly. "I looked out for you, and this is how you repay me? We could have been rich."

"You mean the three of you, right?" Wes countered. "You were gonna screw me and Rui over just like you did so many times before this. Don't act like I stabbed you in the back when I finally nutted up and did something for myself."

"Ooo, feisty lil' thang!" Miror B commented.

"We were the ones who introduced that girl to you, Wesley," Venus reminded. "We're the reason you're _anything_ in this region but just another no-name slob whose daddy ran out on him!"

"If you turn your back on us now, Wes," Nascour said, "then from this moment on, we're enemies. Do you understand?"

"Let him go, Nascour," Mr. Verich piped in without leaving his couch, focusing on his drink. "He's a man now and he can make his own choices. As civilized people, we will let him."

Though clearly displeased, Nascour stepped aside and allowed Wes to pass. But as Wes walked down the stairs, Nascour yelled one last thing after him:

"She's the one who got this idea, wasn't she?! Just you wait! Team Snagem isn't gonna be enough for her. Soon she'll want more, and you're not man enough to give her that! _We're gonna run this region soon, Wes, and don't even think about coming back crying for a job_!"

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Present day**_

 _ **Location: Eclo Canyon, Orre**_

Wes woke up, having leaned against the back of his Zebstrika, which he was riding as the group traveled towards Team Snagem's hideout. They had traveled five hours now and it was dark, with Kris' Chandelure floating ahead of them providing light. Not only that, but it was cold, even in the desert-appropriate clothing Missile had packed and given to the others. Kris was sitting on Lunick's Luxray, Lunick walking next to her despite Kris requesting they switch up every once in a while. Missile was walking ahead, somehow full of energy and not at all bothered by the long distance or the cold, walking next to Chandelure to lead the way. Jackal was still with them, but hanging a bit back, as if to show she wanted nothing to do with anyone there.

After many, many complaints from Kris and Wes about how long it was taking, Missile finally said the golden words:

"We're here!" he yelled.

Wes' jaw almost dropped. Like the previous Snagem base, this, too, was inside a mountain, the entrance wedged between two large rocks. Instead of old ruins, though, this hideout was built hastily from what appeared to be shipping containers and small wooden shacks connected together. Even the location wasn't too far from the old base, as far as Wes remembered. To top of it all off, there was a sign outside that said:

" _Not a secret hideout_

 _No es un escondrijo clandestino_."

"That's your method of warding off intruders?" Kris asked as they rode past the sign.

"Don't be silly, Kris!" Missile exclaimed. "It's our leader's ingenious reverse psychology. After all, our enemies would just shake their heads and think: ' _No one would be stupid enough to have a sign like this outside a secret hideout!_ ', prompting them to leave."

"Flawless logic," Kris mumbled.

As the group reached the fortified steel door of the Snagem hideout, they withdrew their Pokémon. Missile tapped on the door. Soon after, a small hatch at the door opened.

"Password? _"_ a rough voice from inside asked through the hatch.

Missile sighed. " _Roses are red,_ _Cipher sure stinks, there's nothing wrong with watching bodybuilding videos, no matter what anyone thinks,_ " he recited.

Wes groaned. "Same ol' Gonzap..."

"Accepted," the voice inside said, "but who are these?"

"They're here to join in our valiant struggle against Cipher!" Missile proclaimed. "They wish to see the boss!"

"Yeah, okay, whatever," the voice said and opened the door.

Kris and the others got a better glimpse of the hideout once inside and the door behind them was slammed shut. The interiors were dark and damp, lit with some haphazardly set up lights and lanterns hanging from the walls. There were empty wooden crates and cardboard boxes littered all over the place, as well as bald Snagem Grunts in red vests lounging around lazily. Unsure what else to do, the group just followed Missile as he sauntered through the base, cheerfully greeting the other Snagem thugs, most of whom ignored him.

"Before we go to meet Gonzap, I wanna show you something," Missile said and nodded at Wes. "You'll probably get the most nostalgia out of this."

Missile guided the group to a different room where a very large contraption, like an orange vending machine with a large lever on the side and a round, Poké Ball-sized slot on another side.

"This is the last remaining old Snag Machine model," Missile said, Wes looking enthralled by it as he began touching it like he couldn't believe his eyes. "The only one that survived the destruction of our first base two years ago, or so the OG's here tell me."

Wes laughed. "Yeah, another reason why Gonzap's gonna pop a vein when he sees me," he said grimly as he admired the machine. "I can't believe one is still left."

"What, exactly, does this machine do?" Lunick asked.

Missile tapped his nose and dramatically pulled an ordinary Poké Ball out of his pocket as a demonstration. He then inserted the ball into the machine slowly, with great effort, pulled the heavy-looking crank on the side until it was all the way down. Then, what felt like several minutes passed as the machinery inside whirred and the lever slowly returned to an upwards position. Finally, something dropped in the output slot of the machine where a good, cool drink would drop on a normal vending machine: it was the same Poké Ball but with golden stripes on the side and with a slightly darker color scheme.

"While it may seem ordinary to you," Missile proclaimed as he held the ball on his hand, "this, my friends, is a Snag Ball. I reluctantly admit the genius of Cipher's head scientist, as his work has created a Poké Ball that can override the Trainer ID recognition system in any other ball."

"So it's used for stealing," Lunick said. "How could you live with yourself working for these people?" he asked Wes.

Wes raised his hands. "I knew this was a thing that happened, but in my defense, I never used a Snag Ball. My job related to smuggling and protecting other Snagem Grunts. And I quit and destroyed the Snag Machines in the end, didn't I?"

"And in _my_ defense," Missile said even though no one asked, "Team Snagem no longer does this type of thing. We've gone back to just smuggling."

"That's still not good!" Lunick argued.

"Okay, okay, enough with the morality banter," Kris snapped. "We've got more important things to do."

"Indeed, just wanted to point it out – _and_ ," Missile said and held the Snag Ball in front of Kris, "give you this as a gift. It can't make up for saving my life, but it's a small step towards repaying my debt."

Kris was hesitant – what would she do with a ball for stealing Pokémon, after all? But to silence Missile and get on with the tour, Kris accepted the ball and immediately shoved in it in her bag. Still, Missile seemed pleased.

"Now, onto the office of our fearless leader!" he announced.

Missile lead the group to a door seemingly like any other, except with a piece of paper with the hastily scribbled name 'Gonzap' plastered on it. That, and at close inspection, the door was much wider than any other in the base. Missile knocked on the door, and when someone inside grunted something, Missile replied in a jovial tone:

"Yo, boss, it's your boy Missile," he said cheerfully and opened the door slightly. "Back from my assignme-"

Missile had to close the door when someone inside roared and tossed a glass at Missile as hard as they could.

"IT WAS ABOUT TIME YOU LIMP-NOODLED LITTLE BUG EXCREMENT!" yelled the man inside. "Your men came back running with their tail between their legs, screaming about how YOU GOT ONE OF _MY_ CARS DESTROYED! EXPLAIN!"

"Boss, it's all good," Missile said. "I resolved the situation with the Cipher spies."

The tone of the man inside changed completely. "YOU DID?!" he roared. "Well come on in, friend and partner and tell me all about it! Are they dead or did you bring them here so I can grill them myself?!"

Wes was hiding carefully behind Kris and Lunick, though Kris couldn't really accuse him of cowardice in this situation.

"Nah, boss," Missile laughed without a care in the world. "See, there were no spies after all-"

"RRRRRRAAAAAARGH!"

Another glass blew to bits inside the room.

"-but I got someone here who can help us fight Cipher!"

"...you got five minutes."

Grinning at Kris like everything was a-ok, Missile opened the door wide and stepped into the office, the others following reluctantly behind. The room seemed normal, no window but with a large ventilation shaft near the ceiling, a pile of huge dumbbells and empty Snag Balls in the corner, and at one wall, a massive wooden desk, and behind it, an even more massive man.

Gonzap, Team Snagem's leader, was bald and mostly hairless except for his _very_ bushy eyebrows and thin but incredibly long and pointy mustache. He had to be at least seven feet tall and incredibly muscular, wearing the same red vest as the other members but with nothing underneath, exposing his wide, scarred chest.

"Kris, everyone, this is our boss, Gonzap," Missile introduced. "Boss, this is Kris and some other dudes. They're here to bring Cipher down."

Gonzap stared at Missile and laughed so loudly that Jackal, standing behind Kris, began growling.

"FUNNY JOKE!" Gonzap exclaimed. "But if that were possible, me and my MUSCLES would have done it already. MISSILE! WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT INTERLOPERS INTO OUR PLACE OF ESTABLISHMENT?!"

"Boss, chill, I'm right here," Missile cowered.

"Let me explain for that idiot," Kris talked over Missile. "I have a plan which will help us deal a crippling blow to Cipher. But first, I have to hear an explanation. I heard you and Cipher used to work together."

Huffing in frustration, Gonzap walked behind his desk and sat down.

"You want to hear our tale of woe?" he growled at Kris. "I'll amuse you for a while before I have Wakin kick you out. It all started two years ago, when-"

Gonzap suddenly noticed someone currently trying to hide between Lunick and Jackal. Seeing as the jig was up, Wes emerged from hiding and waved at Gonzap.

"What up, boss man?" he asked. "You've only gotten bigger since last time."

"YOUUUUU!" Gonzap bellowed and stood up so quickly his chair fell over.

Jackal prepared an Aura Sphere and growled even harder at Gonzap in retaliation, but fortunately a confrontation was averted as Missile held Gonzap back.

"Boss, please, hear them out!" Missile exclaimed and Gonzap stared at Wes, eyes wide and teeth exposed.

"Wes here feels _real_ sorry for ditching you and blowing up your old base," Kris said quickly. "So he promised to make it up for you guys, and what would be better than ending Cipher for good or at least taking down a significant portion of it?"

Wes was about to protest, but Lunick covered his mouth at a strategic moment.

"And once it's done, do whatever you want with him," Kris promised, keeping her fingers crossed behind her back. "Now, can you please let us explain."

Gonzap kept glaring at Wes, but slowly adjusted his breathing, grabbed his chair and sat back down, his expression almost resigned.

"...I'll take anything I can get," he muttered. "Cipher has almost destroyed my organization."

"What happened, exactly?" Kris asked, trying to appear as interested as possible.

Gonzap looked at the ceiling dramatically and leaned back in his chair. "Oh, miss, it is a tale of great heartbreak. The great heart referring to mine, of course. Two years ago, our operation was running smoothly. Cipher supplied us the first Snag Machines and we began producing Snag Balls. Our members would steal Pokémon and seek out any wild ones thanks to the ability Wesley's girlfriend had, then deliver them to Cipher."

"But then, we lost the Aura-sensing girl – then, Wesley here BETRAYED us!" Gonzap shouted and slammed his fist on the table. "But even the loss of most of our machinery and our base did not stop us. The old base was salvageable, and we moved to one of our backups near Mt. Battle, to be closer to Cipher. Over a year passed, our reserve of Snag Balls was running out and that science geek of theirs gave us Snag Machine 2.0. WAKIN! BRING THE MACHINE!"

Everyone flinched as Gonzap shouted, and his lieutenant soon rushed into the office, carrying something that at first looked like an even crappier Power Glove to Kris.

On closer inspection, it was a metal glove with some kind of container unit attached to a shoulder pad with a retractable cable. Gonzap attempted to demonstrate how to wear it, but had trouble even getting the shoulder pad on.

"WAKIN!" Gonzap yelled. "THIS PUNY DEVICE IS NOT MEANT FOR THE THICKEST MAN ALIVE! BEGONE!"

Wakin nodded nervously, muttered something quickly and left. Gonzap shoved the Snag Machine to Missile instead.

"You show 'em," he grumbled and sat behind his desk.

Missile put the shoulder blade on, coiled the cable around his arm and attached the glove to his hand. He then took another regular Poké Ball out of his pocket and grabbed it with the glove. The Poké Ball was instantly sucked inside the machine, and only a few seconds later, came out as a Snag Ball.

"As you can see, this is much faster than the old machine," Missile boasted and pocketed the ball. "But it also means we're unable to mass-produce anything, and we only have this one."

"We were _promised_ more!" Gonzap yelled and hit his desk again. "So we waited patiently, sending out Agrev and some trusted men to pick up our weekly bounty as usual. But one week, Cipher had a different plan. They decided to wipe _everyone_ out. Only Agrev made it out alive, enough to come and tell me this before quitting the gang and going AWOL. Soon after that, many of our backup bases and several of our men were destroyed. Finally, me and my core group of thirty men retreated into the Eclo Canyon and built a new base. Still, I wait every day that Cipher will come and finish the job."

"Cipher was turning the Pokémon you stole into shadow Pokémon," Kris deduced.

Gonzap just waived his hand impatiently. "I learned that much later, and at that point, the money was coming in and I didn't care!" he grumbled.

"I had no idea about that!" Wes protested and pointed at Gonzap. "This guy didn't tell me jack!"

"Anyway, since then, we've been at war against Cipher," Gonzap finished. "I don't know why they decided to turn on us, but at this point, I DO NOT CARE!"

"So Cipher's lair is close to Mt. Battle?" Kris asked. "You know where they are?"

"Sadly, it's not that simple," Missile said as Gonzap went back behind his desk, grumbling. "The facility on Mt. Battle is Cipher's factory For the last few months, Cipher has gotten more and more money from somewhere as well as another method of producing shadow Pokémon, so their HQ is somewhere else. Even if by some miracle we'd manage to destroy the factory, the impact would be minimal."

"And I want to hit where it HURTS!" Gonzap roared. "Figure out who's in charge of the operation and wring his neck MYSELF!"

Kris nodded. "Okay, thank you," she said. "I'll tell you my plan soon enough, but I gotta ask you something first. Let us stay the night here, and we'll begin work first thing in the morning."

Gonzap sighed and stared at Kris, who stared back unflinchingly.

"You really are serious about this, kid?" he asked. "If so, I'll give you a chance. You can stay here ON THE CONDITION that you'll take over the night's guard duty. We have at least one person outside 24/7, ready to alert us if they see any Cipher activity nearby."

"Sure," Kris promised with a shrug.

"But tell me something first, girl," Gonzap said suspiciously. "Why do you want to help _us_ so bad?"

"I want to end the biggest threat to Orre, of course," Kris said with a slight smile. "And from what I've seen, that threat is Cipher at the moment. If ending Cipher means teaming up with Team Snagem and letting them off the hook, then so be it!"

" _What_?!" Lunick exclaimed.

Wes was suspicious as well. "Kris, you sure you know what you doin'?"

But Gonzap just laughed annoyingly loudly. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT, GIRL!" he shouted. "You know how to play the game in Orre! I look forward to working with you!"

"Kris," Lunick started, "I know I shouldn't question you, but-"

"Then don't," Kris said bluntly. "Look, Lunick, I'll tell my plan to you and Wes soon, but I need some time to prepare. Can you trust me for a little while longer?"

"I… yes, of course," Lunick sighed.

Per Gonzap's orders, Missile left the room to show Kris and the gang where they would be sleeping and how they would be keeping watch. Wes looked around him as they walked. The base may have been different, but the Snagem Grunts, the items scattered about and the overall atmosphere felt just like two years ago.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Two years ago…**_

 _ **Location: Snagem Hideout, Eclo Canyon, Orre**_

"You know, I just don't get you, Wes. Your life is pretty good right now!"

"Yeah, the last two years have been pretty sweet, I have to say. But running from the police my whole life, even if it's the money-stuffed Orre police, just doesn't sound appetizing."

18-year old Wes was in the Snagem Hideout warehouse, stacking crates and prepping them to be filled with more captive Pokémon. This was maybe sixty percent of Wes' work at Snagem these days – lifting and moving stuff. Wes' newly evolved Espeon was by his side, using its psychic powers to lazily lift one crate at a time and stacking it neatly.

Wes was helped by Agrev, the closest one to Wes in Team Snagem besides Rui. Unlike the other Snagem thugs, Agrev was distinguished by his stylish, black sunglasses that he never seemed to take off.

"Sure, it feels like a lot now," Agrev huffed as he carried a crate next to Wes, "but think of the future! Cipher has been making a killing lately! Even if we make only 10%, we're still gonna be rich in a few years!"

"Yeah, but no growth can go on forever," Wes said. "I think Rui feels it too. She's been wanting to get out of this game for the past month. Besides, it seems like we get a new mouth to feed every week. What are we at now, seventy-five? Eighty?"

"Actually we just passed ninety members yesterday," Agrev said proudly. "And I think we're just gonna keep on growing. I saw that futuristic gear the Cipher people were wearing when I last saw them, it was like straight out of an anime or _Proteam Omega_ or something. They ain't runnin' out of money."

Wes and Agrev stacked the last crate, then began lifting the warehouse door so the truck could pick the crates up. Before they could continue their conversation, Rui rushed into the room. Like Wes, Rui hadn't started dressing in Team Snagem style but kept on wearing her old clothes.

"Wes!" she called. "Can we talk?"

Agrev shoved Wes towards Rui with a grin. "Go on, lover boy," he said. "I'll take care of the rest."

Thanking Agrev, Wes rushed over to Rui and was immediately grabbed by the wrist and led to a more secluded area.

"Hey, whoa, not at work," Wes said in an attempt to joke, really confused by this sudden outburst.

"Shh!" Rui hissed and looked around her. "I've got some big news."

"Yeah, me too," Wes said. "But you go first."

"I found us a job opportunity!" Rui said gleefully, almost jumping up and down in excitement. "It'll make us more in a matter of hours than what we make here in months! I talked to this guy Dakim and-"

"Isn't he Cipher?" Wes muttered. "Is this work for them?"

Rui put her finger on Wes' lips. "I'm not done talking," she said. "I found out Dakim has been selling some Pokémon we deliver to Cipher to some private collectors and claiming them as missing. He's screwing Cipher over, which means we can screw both Cipher and _him_ over. Trust me, I've planned this so that Dakim can take the fall and we can skip this place and head to Phenac City instead! Both Cipher and these Snagem fools will-"

"Rui," Wes interrupted pointedly, "what's wrong with you?"

"...huh?"

"I'm serious," Wes said, though just seeing the expression change on Rui's face was scary and painful. "Last time we did this, I had to cut three people out of my life. Yeah, they were scum, but they were scum I'd rather have on my side. Now I have to fear them every time I leave this canyon."

"Are you complaining?" Rui snorted. "You'd still be making chump change if we kept working with Nascour and the others!"

"No, no, I'm happy," Wes said quickly. "And I like the people here a lot better, and I have much more money than before, but this is just too much! I was thinking, we keep working maybe three more months and we'll have enough money to go on a trip to Alola like you've always wanted!"

Rui shook her head. "Spend our money on a beach vacation, and then what, Wes?" she asked, jabbing Wes in the chest. "Do you think about our future at all?"

"...well, I mean, we don't have to buy a return ticket, I guess," Wes muttered, not sure where Rui was going with this. "Maybe move there? I dunno..."

"Yeah, you don't know, 'cause you don't think about anything other than how you're feeling now! I'm saying if we take this opportunity _now_ , our future will look that much brighter!"

"For a while yes, but what good will money do for us if Cipher gets wind of it?"

"You know, Wes, you've changed," Rui sighed. "You used to have a sense of adventure. You used to have _guts_! Now you're more concerned about sitting here comfortably."

"I'm _concerned_ about our safety, and being with you!"

Rui turned around and started walking away.

"This doesn't change anything!" Wes yelled after her. "I… I still love you!"

"Yeah, okay," Rui just responded and left.

That was the beginning of the end of that chapter in Wes' life. The next day, Rui announced her decision to quit Team Snagem and leave Orre – alone. A few weeks after that, Wes quit Team Snagem as well, and he went out with a literal bang.

Despite a job offer from Cipher, Wes swore off working for either gang again, and instead used the money he had made to buy new Pokémon, equipment, TM's and everything else he'd need to defend himself. The idea of Nascour or one of his other old "friends" meeting him still scared Wes, of course, but on the surface, he kept his cool. He began working for all takers, using the skills he had honed during the last two years to track down wanted Pokémon and people, escort people through the desert, protecting shipments from criminals – even rescuing Litten from trees, as long as it paid.

This went on for a year and a half more, until Wes finally got his fateful job offer from the Indigo Pokémon League and was sent to the Navel Rock Research Facility. From there, another chapter ended, and the biggest chapter in his life so far began.

 **~o~O~o~**

"Hey, wake up!"

Wes was again woken up from his slumber, oddly filled with old dreams, by Kris, who had entered the crummy utility room the trio was given as a bedroom. It was fairly large, but it was full of the trio's Pokémon: Shrew was curled up in a corner, Umbreon and Espeon were sleeping next to each other and Croc had bullied the others into giving him a whole mattress to himself.

"It's your turn to keep watch," Kris yawned as she collapsed on the mattress next to Shrew. "Tell Lunick to get some sleep as well, his shift is in three hours."

Wes got up, slowly, rubbing his eyes. "Where is he?" he mumbled.

"Outside at the watch point, he insisted on staying up with me, that stupid… hmmh…"

Wes chuckled. "Good night, Kris."

As Wes left the hideout and stepped into the cold night air to the guard point, he saw Lunick waiting there, watching the fire made to keep the night watchman warm. Not too far from them, Jackal the Lucario was also up, training. She was using her aura to lift crates into the air before destroying them with an Aura Sphere attack, hitting every single time.

"She's been at this for almost an hour," Lunick commented as Wes arrived to the fire. "Probably the only one of us prepared for whatever happens tomorrow."

"Tomorrow..." Wes sighed. "I hope Kris has a good plan."

Lunick nodded. "I believe she does," he said earnestly. "When I first met her in Hoenn, she didn't seem all that much-"

"Trust me, I thought the same thing," Wes laughed. "When I first saw her in Johto, she was an emotionally unstable, clumsy, awkward mess. Now… well, not as much."

Lunick smiled. "But she's grown a lot, hasn't she? That day in Hoenn, when she stood up to Team Aqua and Latias? Or when she defied Team Galactic and freed the Sinnoh lake guardians? I would have never thought she'd be capable of such things."

Wes looked at Lunick carefully. When he spoke of Kris, it was as if Lunick couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"So, um, not that I care too much or anything," Wes said untruthfully, "but, uh, are you guys, um…?"

Lunick, of course, didn't seem to get the insinuation.

"I'm asking if you two are romantically involved," Wes clarified awkwardly.

"Ah," Lunick said. "Well… it is true that I cherish her and care for her a great deal. Back in my time, I didn't have time to care about such things, focusing entirely on Pokémon training, being a warrior and all that. And we spent so much time together in the Ranger school, talking for days on end."

Wes nodded, though that didn't quite answer his question.

"But I know," Lunick sighed deeply, "that she doesn't love me."

Lunick ended his speech by stretching nonchalantly while Wes just stared at him.

"Listen, Lu," he said, "if there's anything I can-"

"I think I'll rest a bit," Lunick just said and patted Wes on the shoulder as he headed inside. "Please wake me up for my shift."

With Lunick gone, Wes sat down and stared at the flames.

 _Tomorrow, huh_?

* * *

 _ **A/N: Yeah, I'm taking certain creative liberties with timelines, characters, events and so on. Nascour, Venus and Miror B., in this continuity, start out as mercs and join Cipher later. Wes and Rui's whole story is rewritten. And of course events unfold in a way that's a bit different, cause why would I retell the same story as Colosseum or XD verbatim?**_

 _ **Nah but thanks for reading y'all, kick that favorite/follow button real hard and leave a review if you can, thanks regardless and see you again soon byeeee.**_

 _ **\- Zokolov**_


	10. Shadow Lugia

**Chapter Ten: "** _ **Shadow Lugia**_ "

 _ **5:52 AM**_

It was early morning at the Snagem Hideout. Lunick had just come back from his guard shift, having collapsed in his bed, getting maybe less than an hour of sleep before they'd have to get up and meet Gonzap. Wes was also fast asleep, his hair messed up and drool running down his chin.

But Kris was awake, talking softly into her satellite phone. Missile had supplied her with a paper map of the Orre region. Blaine was on the other end, going over their plan.

"I knew I could count on you," Kris said. "So everything is okay on your end?"

" _Of course_ ," Blaine grunted, not sounding tired at all despite staying up all night to work on the plan. " _It's a good thing I came prepared. I couldn't trust EXO to get everything done on their own._ "

"So tell me again," Kris said and looked at the map, "the factory you mentioned was behind Mt. Battle?"

" _Yes. Thanks to your info about the location we were able to do a full scan of the area. Surveillance images from one of EXO's Fearow cameras show people in white uniforms, matching the reports we have about Cipher's troops. They were forcing a civilian in a lab coat inside a truck twenty minutes ago._ "

"And the technicians say they've seen the same truck before," Kris muttered as she ran her finger across the map. "Coming from the north, making a pit-stop at the oasis in the west and then..."

" _Disappearing without a trace. That's why we still don't know where Cipher's HQ is. That factory is far too small to be the real thing. A whole convoy of trucks was seen leaving the factory and we now have an ETA for the oasis: 11:26. Fortunately for you, they're taking the scenic route._ "

"If we leave at seven, we'll beat them by an almost an hour if we take this path," Kris calculated. "But we have to take into account that we're not going to the oasis. Of course, this all depends on Wes' info being right, and he is, well, Wes."

" _Yeah, that boy being our only source on Orre sucks, but I don't see why you'd have any reason to suspect him_."

"He keeps downplaying the stuff he did for Team Snagem," Kris said quietly, hearing Wes turn around in his sleep. "Says he didn't know about the shadow Pokémon or that he didn't steal much Pokémon for them… I call Tauros on that. But Cipher _was_ trying to off him before."

" _What about Gonzap and Team Snagem? Do you trust them?_ "

"About as far as I can throw, well, anything. Or run without horrible pain in my sides… but I can see Gonzap _really_ doesn't like Cipher. And he's not too smart either. I can wrap him around my pinky if I promise him a mountain of dead Cipher goons. Not that it'll come to, that, of course. We're doing this thing without anyone getting hurt."

" _Nice ideal, Kris. We'll see how it turns out. So, you ready to start?_ "

"Yes," Kris said and looked at the satellite phone. "Now, tell me how to get that thing out..."

Later, Wes, Lunick and anyone else in the base who happened to be sleeping was woken up by Gonzap roaming the halls and roaring at everyone to gather outside. Soon enough, Kris, Wes, Lunick and Jackal, who looked unimpressed with everything, were standing in a row with Missile and the other Team Snagem goons. Kris noted that they all wore the same red vest with black undershirt combo, and all but Missile were bald. Unlike with Team Rocket or Team Galactic, they were also all male.

Gonzap and his Pokémon, a Skarmory and a nasty-looking Shiftry were walking around, looking at the row of Team Snagem members. There were twenty-five in total, a few remaining behind in the base. Every one of them had been prepped to take the fight to Cipher, though morale among the ranks fluctuated a lot. Gonzap's second-in-command, Wakin, and a few of his underlings, were quite eager and stared at Gonzap in awe while Missile was gung-ho as usual, but a majority of the grunts were slouching, grumbling amongst themselves and looking weary.

"MEN!" Gonzap bellowed, and everyone, even Kris, Wes and Lunick, stood at attention. "Today is THE DAY! Cipher, the slimy Ekans slithering around Orre, covering this fine region in its toxic ooze, will be stopped today. You, my beloved members of Team Snagem, can feast on the snake's entrails and tail as much as you want, but _I_ will be the one to CRUSH its head in my mighty fist."

"He's quite the poet," Wes mumbled in Kris' ear.

"Thanks to our three guests," Gonzap continued, "we have formulated a plan to STOP the Cipher infestation. Now, I know some of you still regard this traitorous worm WESLEY here as the spawn of the Devil himself and probably wanted to STRANGLE him as he slept – I sure did," Gonzap added and laughed, probably expecting others to do so too. No one did, while Wes shifted around nervously.

"ANYWAY," Gonzap continued, "here to tell you about the plan is… PUNY PIGTAILED GIRL!"

Kris sighed. "It's Kris," she said as she stepped forward. Looking at the Team Snagem members stare at her suspiciously, she realized how much harder this plan was to relay to a group of people than to go it over in her head. "Um, hi, it's good to be here, this region is, uh, very sunny-"

"GET TO THE POINT, WOMAN!" Gonzap yelled.

Kris flinched. "Yeah, ahem, right. Thanks to my sources, I know that some Cipher members are transporting a kidnapped scientist to what I assume is their current base. We came here to rescue that geek, and getting him back will probably deal a big blow to Cipher. Um, but, even better, we can follow those trucks to their lair and find a route through which all of you can infiltrate their lair and take them out in their own home."

"If you are referring to this elusive TRUCK CONVOY," Gonzap shouted, "it DISAPPEARS every time we try to track it down. That, and one of our members is usually killed or wounded, but most importantly, WE LOSE THE TRUCKS!"

"Yeah, but thanks to what I heard from Wes here," Kris said, "and his sources, there might be an entrance to the Under somewhere around the oasis. The desert ends around there, making it easy to hide among the trees. The trucks most likely use the Under to get to their destination."

"Isn't the Under just some mine under Pyrite Town?" asked another Snagem Grunt.

"I spent a lot of time exploring after I quit this merry band," Wes explained. "There are tunnels stretching far and wide that all lead to the Under. Cipher must be using those tunnels to transport their goods, but the tunnels don't go all the way to the mountains yet. Meaning they have to travel part of the way on the surface in regular-looking trucks."

"Gonzap, I'd like you to split your men into three teams!" Kris said. "The first one will create a distraction for the trucks. Stop them for even a minute. That'll give us enough time to hijack one of them. Since robberies are your, um, expertise, they'll probably assume you're just trying to score a profit and won't suspect too much. The second team will be taking the rear. They can hang back and follow the trucks as inconspicuously as possible. Finally, a third group will lie in wait in The Under. Wes' info says a group of Cipher Peons is often seen hanging around there. Members of the third team will take them out and disguise themselves as Cipher members, allowing them to stick around with the convoy and assist the second team with overrunning any Cipher resistance once we figure out where their HQ is. And um, yeah, that's about it."

Kris stopped, her mouth feeling dry. The Snagem Grunts all stared at her, much less suspiciously now. Even Gonzap wasn't shouting anymore.

"And what about you?" he asked.

"We will be team four, I guess," Kris explained. "We'll need one of your men to drive us to a point where we can ambush the convoy and get in while team one pulls off the distraction. We'll take over the truck and see if we can safeguard Cozmo."

Gonzap laughed obnoxiously loudly. "GOOD PLAN!" he yelled. "Many risks, many flaws and a great chance we'll all DIE, but that's the way I like it. Good chance of success despite the risk."

"No one here will die," Kris assured, "and you'll want to hold it off when it comes to Cipher as well. Otherwise all that propaganda the mayor has been spreading about you will have a point."

Gonzap just grumbled in agreement. "Biden shall lead the distraction team!" Gonzap announced. "Missile, you're team three, take out any Cipher in the Under and pave the way for MY group. Wakin, get these brave idiots safely to the trucks!"

Wes pressed some buttons on his PDA. "I sent all the team leaders the location of the trucks," he said. "I know you love showing off, boss man, but try not to let Cipher catch sight of you, or they'll start suspecting."

"We'll see!" Gonzap laughed. "After all, my AMAZING MUSCLES can be seen all the way from Alola! Team Snagem! ONWARDS, TO VICTORY!"

The Snagem Grunts divided into three teams. The distraction team were the first to head off, getting into their buggies and sandrails as they drove off and disappeared into the horizon. Gonzap was prepping his Skarmory for takeoff – figures that only a steel bird was strong enough to carry an enormous man like that.

"Kris, you spoke well back there," Lunick told Kris after he made sure enough Snagem Grunts were out of earshot. "And I trust you in almost all things."

"...but?"

" _However_ , I do feel there are crucial details you didn't tell me and Wesley."

"Yeah, includin', once we get to the point where we hijack this truck, then what?" Wes asked. "How do we get Cozmo out of there without alerting Cipher?"

Kris sighed. "Yeah, sorry," she said. "I was supposed to tell you, but I wanted to wait a bit. Just remember that our key goal is getting Cozmo out. Team Snagem can do the heavy lifting and just follow the plan. Can you both just please trust me for the time being?"

Lunick nodded. "Of course," he said. "I'd just be more at peace if I knew exactly what to do."

"Kris!"

Missile had cut in on the conversation, having broken off from his group.

"Your plan is great, but I don't like being so far away from you!" he said. "I still owe my life to you, and until my debt is repaid, I cannot rest-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Kris said quickly. "If you really want to pay me back, just make sure Gonzap doesn't get anyone killed, okay?"

Missile saluted. "Your wish is my command! See you on the other side!"

With that, he finally left, leading his team of seven grunts towards Pyrite Town. After their cars and Pokémon were far enough away, Wakin led Kris, Wes, Lunick and Jackal to his jeep. In a matter of hours, they'd be at the Under, and that's when the plan would really kick into motion.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Abandoned laboratory, Orre**_

 _ **9:56 AM**_

Hilda was walking amongst the ruins of the hastily evacuated laboratory. Surrounded by a broken electric fence, the seemingly modest facility was excavated by a platoon of EXO personnel and their mainly Fighting- and Ground-type Pokémon, revealing a much larger complex underground. Smack dab in the middle of the desert, the facility was revealed to be connected to a tunnel supposedly going all the way to Pyrite Town.

There were pieces of white armor everywhere, too, as if Cipher was in such a hurry to evacuate that they didn't have time to hide their presence. Of course, all machinery and research records had been destroyed, with smoking craters and large holes scattered all over the place. Whatever carnage had occurred there, it was recent.

"Hi!"

Even Hilda was startled by someone suddenly sneaking up behind her, though she quickly recovered and smiled when she saw who it was. A young man with pale skin scruffy brown hair and brown eyes, smiling gently.

"Hilbert!" Hilda sighed. "Don't tell me they sent you here, too. Don't they have any faith in me up there?"

"Sorry, but this is getting a little too big for any of us," Hilbert said, his smile and optimism gone. " _Personally,_ I trust your skill and awesomeness any day of the week-"

"Yeah, yeah, get to the point, smartass."

"Basically, the order came from the top."

Hilda raised her eyebrows. "Dr. Kaminko ordered you here?"

Hilbert shook his head. "President Lusamine did," he said quietly.

Hilda took a look at the EXO personnel that she had with her. They all wore all-white, futuristic outfits, the troops and the equipment supplied by EXO's primary backer, the Aether Foundation from Alola. Even if Aether's president, Lusamine was effectively Hilda's superior, Hilda had never seen the woman in her life.

"All right," Hilda said, "what is the emergency they need us both f-"

But, as if on command, Hilda's question was answered by sudden screaming from the Aether Foundation employees, who began running around in panic and pointing at the sky. Hilda and Hilbert soon saw it, too: something massive was flying in their direction, way to large to be just a common bird Pokémon.

Hilda quickly put on her Aura Reader and began scanning it, trying to zoom in closer: the bird was dark purple in color with glowing red eyes. Resembling more like a dragon, the creature was, according to Hilda's scanners, about twenty feet in height and with a wingspan of maybe _sixty_ feet, its wings looking more like massive hands. There were sharp, jagged spikes around its eyes, curving to the back of its head.

Unlike with normal Pokémon, the Aura Reader was unable to make any estimations of the Pokémon's type or other attributes, the readings only showing garbled, corrupted data. And the closer it got, the hotter the Aura Reader felt on Hilda's face.

"AHH!"

Hilda shrieked and had to pull the Aura Reader away and toss it to the bottom of her bag before it burned her face as the massive bird flew over them, looking more like a plane considering its size, leaving the abandoned lab in its shadow.

Hilda and Hilbert glanced at each other, then began running for the Aether Foundation trucks. Before that could happen, a jeep pulled over next to them, as if out of nowhere, driven by a tall woman dressed in black with long, blonde hair.

"Cynthia!" Hilda gasped.

"Hey, Hilda," Cynthia replied. "I haven't seen you since you came to Sinnoh, but I think this is a bad time to catch up."

"Yeah, _kinda_!" Hilda huffed. "Did you see that thing?!"

"Of course," Cynthia smiled. "That's my job here. You two wanna come on? I think I have one of the few cars here that can keep up with that thing?"

Hilda didn't even waste time replying but just jumped on the backseat, while Hilbert politely nodded and opened the door to sit next to Hilda. Before the Aether Foundation personnel could even get their things in order, Cynthia's jeep was already in hot pursuit of the creature.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Cliffs near the Oasis Poké Spot, Orre**_

 _ **11:20 AM**_

While sightings of a huge, shadowy creature in the sky spread all over Orre that morning, the government maintained its silence and Kris, Wes and Lunick were none the wiser. Wakin had left them in their spot before leaving. Jackal was also with them, Kris having told it the plan and hoping it had understood. While the other three were hiding in the tall grass on the cliffs and observing what was happening below, Jackal was sitting against a tree, apparently taking a nap.

Wes was using his binoculars to see what was down while Kris used her Aura Reader's zoom function. Lunick just said he trusted the "bare eyes that Arceus had given him", but that proved to be tough in the bright sunshine of the Orre desert.

And yet, it was Lunick who first heard the approaching truck convoy, the rumbling soon catching Kris and Wes as well. They all soon saw the dust cloud and the approaching convoy of three trucks. There was nothing too suspicious about them, a logo of a generic transport company printed on them, with the only strange thing being the opaque windshields, with no way of seeing the faces of the drivers. Suddenly, Kris heard small beeping from her Aura Reader.

"Looks like there's some kind of weak distress signal coming from… the truck furthest at the back," she said.

"Kris, Lu, look!" Wes yelled, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Lu..." Lunick grumbled, but complied.

A bigger dust cloud was coming down the road, about to meet the trucks. As Kris zoomed in with her Aura Reader, she spotted a bunch of small cars and Pokémon about to meet the trucks.

"Team Snagem's distraction team is ready," Kris said with a smile. "Guys, our job is gonna be easy. In fact, I already asked Jackal here for some help. Isn't that right, girl?"

Jackal opened her other eye briefly to glare at Kris, then went back to meditating. Kris had to assume that was a yes.

"...right, anyway," Kris continued, "let's see how well they perform."

Indeed, soon enough, three cars and three Tauros were blocking the road entirely, with the cliffs and dunes making it impossible to go around with a heavy truck. There were seven Team Snagem members standing in a row, making rude hand gestures at the trucks and mocking them, with Biden stepping out of one of the cars to yell at the driver in the front.

"Listen up, fools!" he yelled so loud even Kris, Wes and Lunick could hear. "This is a raid! Step out of the trucks and walk away unless you want this to hurt a _lot_."

The trucks had stopped but no one inside stepped out or said anything for a while. Then, the back of the first truck opened and a swarm of shadow Pokémon came out. Kris watched as the Snagem Grunts sent out their own Pokémon to fight them, the ensuing Pokémon battle soon whipping up a cloud of dust and sand.

"All right, Jackal!" she told the Lucario, who opened its eyes again and slowly got up. "Show us what you've got!"

 **~o~O~o~**

Inside the truck at the back was a nervous Cipher peon. Instead of the usual white armor, he was dressed normally to avoid suspicion. Should any cops or security guards ask any questions, he was just your average truck driver. Any other day, whether they were delivering shadow Pokémon or technology, the drive had went smoothly, with Team Snagem too scared to do anything. But now the ruffians had toughened up, attacked the trucks in force _and_ just happened to do so on the day they were transporting highly important cargo?! Sitting alone in the hot car, the peon wiped sweat off his face.

However, as he glanced at his side mirror, the peon noticed something odd. Another, bigger dust cloud suddenly blew up in the back, a sudden sandstorm hiding everything else out of sight. Was Team Snagem attacking from the back as well?

But the peon soon got an answer to his question when a loud thud was heard on the roof of the truck's cab. His fear overtaking him, the peon tried to grab for his radio, but soon enough, the door was forced open, and the peon was face-to-face with a Lucario for a split second before the Pokémon's powerful hand grabbed him in a stranglehold.

With the truck out of sight, Kris, Wes and Lunick were able to enter as the peon watched on helplessly, unable to make a sound, too afraid to move less Jackal would crush his windpipe. Kris just smiled at the helpless peon and put a finger on her lip as she entered the truck. Fortunately, there was a door allowing access to the cargo area from the cab.

"Wes, you know how to drive this?" Kris asked.

"Of course!" Wes replied as he hopped on the driver's seat, putting his hands on the large steering wheel. "One of the things I had to learn during my years of adventuring around this reg-"

"Yeah, just a simple 'yeah' would have been fine," Kris sighed and entered the cargo area with Lunick.

Wes stayed in the cab, hearing crackles on the radio.

" _This is car one, the Snagem filth has been driven out. The cargo has been collected. All is good_."

" _Car 2 reporting, everything a-OK._ "

"For your sake, I suggest telling them everything is okay," Wes threatened the peon.

Jackal released her grip on the peon long enough for him to quietly say the right words into the radio.

"Car 3 reporting, no problems," he said, his voice shaking a bit.

" _Roger that. On me then, we'll need to catch up to make the rendezvous._ "

"All right, good night for now," Wes told the peon, and before he could do anything about it, Jackal knocked him out cold with a single punch. Jackal tossed the unconscious peon into the cargo area while Wes cranked the handbrake off and began to slowly drive after the other two trucks.

Meanwhile, Kris and Lunick tended to the captive man in the cargo area. His arms and legs bound and a gag on his mouth, propped up against a shipping crate, was Professor Cozmo, a skinny man nearing forty with spiky, brown hair and small, round glasses. Kris remembered meeting him in Hoenn, but had very little chance to exchange words with him. He looked a bit older than professor Elm, though, making Kris wonder how the two could have gone to school together.

But as soon as Kris took off the gag from Cozmo's mouth, she understood why Elm had warned her about him.

"About time!" Cozmo snapped at Kris the moment the gag came off. "I've spent the last two days in horrible consequences! I'll make sure to tell _everyone_ back in Hoenn about the treatment I've gotten in Orre! I've been threatened, belittled, spit on, manhandled, womanhandled, neener-neenered and generally abused _far too much_ for my liking!"

"Um… professor Cozmo?" Kris said weakly, finally seeing an opening in the midst of Cozmo's tirade. "You don't remember me? I'm Kris, I met you when I sav- when I helped you out when Team Magma captured you on Meteor Falls."

Cozmo finally fell silent and squinted at Kris. "That's not exactly public knowledge," he grumbled, "but anything from that time period is something I'd sorely want to forget, so you'll excuse me if I don't remember you, girl."

"...sure," Kris sighed. "Anyway, calm down, we're here to help."

"I didn't see you either of you at the Pokémon HQ Laboratory," Cozmo grumbled as he glared at Lunick who was untying the professor. "Why did it take you idiots so long to find me?"

Lunick didn't take the insult too well and untied Cozmo's ropes purposefully roughly, hurting him in the process.

"We're not really with them," Kris said awkwardly. "Um, but we know your old friend, professor Elm."

Cozmo's suspicious glaring turned to pure hatred. " _Well_ ," he hissed, "if he thinks he can score brownie points in the eyes of his peers by sending his lackeys out to help me, then I'd rather just stay here!"

"Good," Lunick muttered.

"No, no, no, he didn't send us," Kris said quickly. "Um, well, the mayor of Phenac City did, I guess."

This seemed to please Cozmo more. "Ah," he said approvingly and nodded. "Of course they couldn't risk the publicity disaster of something happening to an esteemed foreign scientist. Yes, that makes total sense."

Kris was beginning to share Lunick's frustration with the good professor.

"Lunick," she asked sweetly, "could you look after the professor for a moment. I need to check up on Wes."

Were it anyone else, Lunick would have refused, but now he just agreed to Kris' request with a resigned nod. Kris immediately stormed back into the cab, where Wes was sitting on the driver's seat, rigid and nervous like his spine was made of concrete. The truck was leaving the desert and heading towards a narrow road where there was more and more vegetation.

"Now would be a great time to tell me who your source on this was," Kris told Wes, who didn't take his eyes off the road for a second.

"Um, yeah," Wes replied nervously. "I've told you about the adventures I've had around Orre, ri-"

"Many times, yes!"

"Well, in the Under, there's an organization that supplied me information that time, about Cipher and Team Snagem's movements, hot tips about runaway Pokémon, information on shortcuts I can take and so on. I recently got in touch with them."

"Who are they?" Kris asked.

"They're called, the… the Kids Grid," Wes answered, keeping his eyes on the other trucks.

Kris stared at him. "The-"

"Kids Grid, meaning yes, they're a bunch of kids who hang in the Under," Wes said quickly. "Yea, I used kids to get information countless times, are you gonna lecture me?"

"No," Kris said and shrugged. "I don't really care about that, just wondering if this info is any good."

"We'll soon see," Wes pointed out.

The truck convoy was about to leave the desert, and trees began to pop up more and more. The glimmering water of the Oasis Poké Spot could be seen in the distance.

" _Prepare to go down in three minutes_ ," one of the drivers said over the radio.

"Go down," Kris muttered, seeing nothing but desert on one side and forests in the other. "Where?"

After a few minutes of quiet driving, Kris' question was answered. The truck convoy disappeared in the ever-growing thickets of trees and bushes, driving past the oasis and further into the wilderness. At first, the only thing in front of them was endless forest. But then, as the first truck of the convoy approached some odd-looking trees, the trees suddenly moved aside to reveal a tunnel heading underground.

The first truck dived fearlessly into the tunnel, and the second one soon after. Kris and Wes glanced at each other for a quick second before Wes put his foot on the gas pedal and drove into the tunnel.

The tunnel was made of concrete and felt quite new, no cracks, mold or anything on the walls or the ceiling. It was dark as well, with some dim lights scattered sparsely around the walls of the tunnel, meaning Wes had to follow the second truck's taillights to navigate. The tunnel was not a straight line, but the convoy took several turns: left, right, right, left again… it was impossible to keep track of where they were going, or to find a way back to the surface.

Finally, the tunnels stopped and the truck convoy emerged in the Under, a former mine restructured into an underground city. From the look of things, though, this particular city had been long since abandoned, with dilapidated buildings and darkened or boarded windows everywhere one looked.

Wes quickly handed Kris his PDA, as he couldn't really keep his eyes off the road. Kris turned it on and chose the map app, which took a long while to load, but eventually showed a fairly detailed map of the Under, albeit with several areas grayed out.

"Missile's group is about to attack a few hundred meters ahead," Kris said quietly.

"Look!" Wes yelled, pointing at something near the trucks in the front.

The truck convoy was going past a more lively part of the Under with people looking at the passing trucks from the windows. Some kids had gone out and were running around the slowly crawling trucks, asking the drivers incessant questions and begging for money or candy. The two drivers in the front mostly ignored them, so one of the kids started running alongside Kris and Wes' truck, prompting Wes to roll open his window.

"What are you doing?!" Kris hissed at him.

But Wes just winked at her and turned to the kid.

"Sorry, squirt, no candy for you!" he said. "Run along!"

Making an angry face, the kid took a bunched-up ball of paper from his pocket and threw it into the truck before running off laughing. Wes quickly closed the window and handed the ball of paper to Kris. Smiling at the surprisingly clever plan, Kris opened the paper, which only contained a hastily scribbled set of coordinates and a short sentence: "Cipher people meeting here". Kris entered the coordinates to her PDA.

"Uh oh," Wes said as Kris was busy waiting for the PDA to load the information. "Kris, trouble ahead."

Kris looked up and almost dropped the PDA in shock. People in white, futuristic-looking face-obscuring uniforms were surrounding the first truck, at least six of them. One was talking to the driver while the others were banging on the truck and making notes, scanning it with some kind of devices.

"Crap!" Kris spat. "What should we do?!"

"You got your Poké Balls ready?" Wes asked.

"Yeah..."

"Maybe we won't need them," Wes muttered, panic making his voice higher than usual. "The driver was wearing civilian clothes."

"But they'll still know we're not with them!" Kris snapped. "And they'll probably ask us something we cannot convincingly answer."

The Cipher members were already busy with the second truck.

"Just be cool, Kris," Wes said, though he was visibly sweating himself. "Cool as a Cubchoo, Kris!"

"I'm about to ram a Cubchoo up your-"

But Kris didn't finish her sentence as the Cipher peons soon approached their truck. She kept her hand on Croc's Poké Ball and stayed motionless as one of the Cipher members tapped on the truck window. Taking a deep breath, Wes rolled down the window with shaking hands.

The tall, helmet-wearing, grim-faced Cipher peon whose eyes were covered by a thick gray visor stared at Wes and Kris as he peeked inside the truck. To Kris' relief, he didn't seem to immediately think that anything was wrong, so the two just stared back.

"Greetings," the Cipher peon said in an oddly disarming voice. "Inspecting your truck, making sure everything is OK before you proceed. Also, just a routine test to make sure you're good to go. All you need to do is answer this question."

The peon cleared his throat while Kris' hands got so sweaty she almost dropped the Poké Ball.

"If train A leaves the station going 60 miles per hour," the peon said, "and train B leaves one hour later going 85 miles per hour, how long will it take train B to catch up with train A?"

Kris and Wes stared at the Cipher man, their mouths slightly open. Wes wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Wha…?"

But the Cipher man laughed and lifted his visor, revealing the top half of his face: brown eyes, a thick mustache and a grinning, scarred face.

"We did our job," Missile said as he put the visor of his Cipher helmet back on. "And it looks like the rest of you did yours. It's a clear path from here, though we still don't know where their base is. This place is _huge_!"

"Good work, Missile," Kris praised. "Do you have the stuff with you?"

Missile nodded at two other disguised Snagem goons, who pushed three boxes into the truck through the window. Kris opened one box a bit, revealing a Cipher uniform inside.

"Nice," she said. "One more thing. We need to make a little detour that I hope the other trucks won't notice. Can you come up with something?"

Missile smiled and winked.

"See you on the other side, then," he said said and lowered his visor, before announcing in an unnecessarily loud voice: "There's a problem with this truck, boys! Need to keep it here for a while for some repairs."

" _Negative!_ " said one of the drivers over the radio Missile was carrying. " _That truck has the valuable cargo. Either fix it right now or move the cargo to the middle truck_."

Missile looked at Kris and shrugged. Kris turned to Wes and smiled.

A few minutes later, Missile and some Snagem thugs disguised as Cipher members escorted a prisoner from the truck at the back to the middle one. He was bound with several binds, gagged and his face was covered by a bag with some small breathing holes in it.

As the Cipher thugs in the trucks acknowledged this and moved on, ignoring the frantic banging coming from the cargo hold, they were blissfully unaware that they were in fact transporting one of their own drivers, while professor Cozmo was safely in the back of the last truck with Lunick and Jackal.

Missile and the other Snagem members dispersed as Kris and Wes took their truck down a different route, to the supposed secret meeting place that the Kids Grid had mentioned. Approaching the location, they stopped the truck and Kris, Wes and Lunick changed into their Cipher gear. Though Wes and Lunick kept questioning the plan more and more, Kris was determined in not telling them any specifics, imploring them to trust her.

Finally, the truck arrived to the location: a large, tall chasm, the sun being visible and reaching far down into the Under. In the chasm, there was a spacious cavern crawling with Cipher men, all unpacking boxes and assembling some kind of electronic equipment.

But the most striking people were a trio of goons who didn't look like they belonged in Cipher. There was a brown-haired woman wearing mostly pink silk clothes, a very tall man wearing sunglasses with a Poké Ball -shaped afro and an even taller, gaunt man with long, wiry gray hair. The taller man was giving orders to the Cipher peons.

"Those freaks are who you told me about?" Kris asked quietly as they observed the group from a distance.

"Yeah," Wes sighed. "The woman is Venus, the one who tried to kill us before. The guys are Miror B and Nascour. I guess all three of them work for Cipher now. I have some… history with them."

"I don't care, but just try to keep your mouth shut so they don't recognize you," Kris said.

Lunick emerged from the cargo area, lifting the visor of his Cipher helmet.

"How do these people wear this battle attire in the desert?" he wondered. "It feels as if I'm floating in a pool of my own sweat!"

"Keep it cool, at least mentally," Kris smiled. "I want you two to escort Cozmo. I'll do the talking. Got it?"

"If you insist," Wes said. "Just be careful around those three."

"Jackal!" Kris told the Lucario sitting in the back of the truck, not caring about the conversation. "Stay back and come to our aid if we're attacked." Remembering she was not the Lucario's trainer, she added: "Um, please."

Jackal just looked at Kris briefly and closed its eyes again, so Kris assumed the Lucario was on the plan. With that, Kris, Wes, Lunick and professor Cozmo appeared from the truck, Wes and Lunick holding Cozmo from each arm. Cozmo was gagged to make sure he wouldn't say anything to ruin the plan… and just so that he couldn't say anything _period_.

Walking around the cavern, Kris tried to spot what Nascour was ordering the Cipher peons to do. They were assembling what appeared to be monitors in a circle, with Nascour himself having stepped in the middle of it. But as Kris kept her eyes on what was going on in a distance, a Cipher peon close by stopped them and ran to them.

"Hey!" the peon yelled. "What is this?!"

"The geek escaped!" Kris told the peon in the most stereotypical "bad guy henchman" voice she could come up with. "We found one of the trucks empty, no driver inside. So we brought him here, maybe… Nascour or the others wants to do something to him."

The peon stared at Cozmo, then turned to look at Kris. "Who are you with?" he asked rudely.

"The Under team, we were inspecting the trucks, the last truck had to stay behind because of some difficulties," Kris said quickly. "We were then ordered to patrol the perimeter and found him soon after. We called it in and were told that you were close."

It was hard to see the peon's expression through his helmet, but he nodded and seemed satisfied.

"All right, Nascour is busy but you can wait around until he's done," he said. "Don't touch anything and don't talk to them until you have our permission."

"Got it!" Kris said, and the peon left.

As soon as the peon was far enough, Kris motioned the others to follow him. Still dragging Cozmo with them, the group climbed on the rocks close by, sneaking around the working Cipher members. Nascour, Miror B and Venus were standing in a small canyon of sorts, surrounded by rocky hills. Whatever Nascour was doing with the monitors, it was very secretive.

Kris, Wes, Lunick and Cozmo climbed on top of one of the hills, laying flat on their bellies to stay hidden, Kris, Wes and Lunick taking off their Cipher helmets to see better. Nascour was maybe a hundred meters away, standing in the middle of a circle, the outlines of the circle made of ten monitors. The monitors were now on, and it seemed to be some kind of video conference, except there were no faces on monitors: just numbers in a big red font, from 02 to 11.

But it was impossible to get closer, with Miror B, Venus and Cipher peons patrolling the area, so it was impossible to hear what was being said. Wes pulled his binoculars from his pocket and handed them to Kris.

"Thanks," Kris said dryly, "but I missed the last class of Lip Reading 101."

Wes just winked and opened a small hatch in the binoculars, pulling out a microphone and an earpiece. Close to kissing Wes out of gratitude, Kris controlled herself and just patted him on the shoulder as she pointed the microphone towards Nascour and looked at him with the binoculars – the sound quality was surprisingly good, a few cracks in the signal notwithstanding, it was like Nascour was a few feet from her.

"…stages of the project," Nascour said, addressing the monitor with 02 written on it. "Doctors Ein and Lovrina have completed the test run, and project XD001 will be complete tonight."

" _Good work, Nascour_ ," 02 said – Kris noticed there was a small line beneath the number, vibrating as they spoke. Their voice was heavily distorted electronically, to the point where even the gender of the speaker was impossible to determine.

" _Yes, but the cost of covering this up was astronomical_ ," said another distorted voice from the monitor marked '05', Nascour turning politely to address them. " _The creature sightings over Orre have persisted as a rumor among the desert dwellers._ "

Nascour laughed slightly. "I assure you that once the project is finished, everyone involved will be purged. Greevil and the mayor still believe Cipher is working in their interest. Fortunately our true leader has more sense than those old fools."

" _The mayor needs to be dead by the time this ends,"_ said 09. _"For Greevil, it's enough that we shatter his plans"_

" _The mayor will pay a hefty price for betraying us_ ," 02 said. " _And so will Blake Hall._ _Have you confirmed his death yet?_ "

"A team of Cipher agents are scanning the area," Nascour said politely, facing the 02 monitor. "We will have confirmation soon. Whatever he told to those interlopers, it's not a concern."

" _Madam Sird will be pleased_ ," said 10. " _Get back to Citadark Isle immediately._ "

" _Yes, this meeting is dismissed_ ," 02 said. " _We expect communications from you again tomorrow_."

All the monitors turned off, and Kris handed the binoculars back to Wes.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure what's that about," Kris mused quietly when Wes and Lunick looked at her expectantly, even Cozmo looking interested, "but apparently Nascour and the others don't necessarily answer to old baldy. The mayor is definitely involved, but he's not the one running the show. Something about a project and creature sightings… and they mentioned Sird from the Pokémon Association, too."

"How deep does this web of conspiracy reach?" Lunick said fancily.

"So if we defeat Cipher," Wes said, "we're one step closer to unraveling this whole thing."

"That's right, and our plan is going smoothly," Kris said. "Now let's get out of here, they're going to move to their base in a place called 'Citadark Isle'… know it, Wes?"

Wes shook his head. "Never heard, but if they want to be taken seriously, maybe change it to something less ominous. Maybe Free Candy island… wait."

"Well, if we tag along with them, we can find their base," Kris said. "Missile and Gonzap's teams are probably following the trucks, so they'll be there, too."

After putting their helmets back on, Kris, Wes, Lunick and Cozmo landed from the hill smoothly and were able to subtly join the other Cipher personnel, who were packing the monitors and other equipment into boxes and loading them into their cars and drones. However, Kris' heart nearly jumped into her throat when she heard a loud, female voice suddenly yelled at them:

"You three, hold still!"

The group turned to look and Kris raised her eyebrows at the young woman approaching them. She was a bit older than Kris, with orange, pigtailed hair and blue eyes, but her complexion, size and hair style were strikingly similar to Kris'. Kris could hear Wes gasp a bit next to her – she assumed it was his nerves.

"Nascour, Miror B, Venus, can you come here, please!" the young woman yelled as she approached Kris' group, smirking.

To Kris' surprise, they did. They, as well as the Cipher peons around them, seemed to take orders from this 5'2'' girl. Who was she?

"Yo, boss!" Miror B screeched flamboyantly as the three mercenaries arrived. "What's the haps with these crabs?"

"Why do you need us, miss?" Venus translated respectfully.

"I could recognize _that_ aura from anywhere," the girl said as she pointed directly at Wes, even though he wore the same uniform as everyone else. "Nascour, I'd like you to remove his helmet, please."

Though frustrated with this menial task, Nascour obeyed respectfully, to Kris' horror. But neither she nor Lunick could do anything as two Cipher peons emerged and pointed two futuristic-looking weapons at Wes. Either he had nerves of steel or he was paralyzed from fear, but Wes stood perfectly still as Nascour pulled off his helmet, exposing his ruffled, dark blonde hair and tanned face. Miror B and Venus gasped dramatically while Nascour narrowed his eyes.

The girl smiled cruelly. "Welcome back to Orre, dear Wes."

"Hi again, Rui," Wes replied tensely.

Now it was Kris' turn to gasp. _Rui?!_ Still, she tried to save the situation.

"Hey, it's that Wesley guy!" Kris said, in an attempt to be convincing. "He must have taken out one of our guys. We'll capture him, too!"

But Nascour yanked off Kris' helmet, too, while a nearby Cipher peon removed Lunick's. The trio was left helpless in the face of overwhelming odds, and though they had their Poké Balls, they could not reach them in this situation.

"Must really suck for you that I was here, Wes," Rui gloated, as she and Wes stared daggers at each other. "You got quite far – if you hadn't stuck your noses at our meeting, you could have pulled off whatever you had planned."

"Well, you're right that it does suck for me, and pretty much everyone around you," Wes shot back. "Don't tell me – you went to work for Cipher after you left me. And now you're running the show. Except you betrayed Mayor McEggman, just like you betrayed everyone you worked for."

"Through Cipher, I was offered a very lucrative work opportunity," Rui said. "If you'd done what I told you before, you'd be standing here beside me instead of sweating in that disguise, fearing for your life. I was able to climb up the ranks of Cipher and form a loyal group of followers, yes. And these three, the ones who initially hired me as just a helping hand, now work for me too," she added, gesturing at Nascour's trio.

"You really deserve each other," Wes grumbled.

Tired of their banter, Kris piped in: "Okay, enough of this! I thought you were dead or something!"

Rui laughed, while Wes looked uncomfortable. "Wes has never been honest in his life," she taunted. "He's not enough of a man to be straightforward. He probably just chose a story that would be easiest to tell and that would gain him enough sympathy."

"What are you doing here?" Nascour asked Kris and Lunick. "Where are you taking the professor? _What did you hear_?!"

"That's enough, Nascour," Rui interrupted. "I really don't care. We'll take them with us and they can tell us _everything_."

Wes shook his head. "Why, Rui?" he asked quietly. "Why didn't you just stay with me that time?"

"I told you already," Rui said. "You lack ambition. You don't have what it takes to get the job done."

"Miss Rui, we need to get moving," Nascour said impatiently. "Men, seize those four! Careful with the professor, we need him for a bit longer still!"

The two Cipher peons pointed their zapper guns at the group, but a blue blur appeared from behind. A few well-aimed punches later, Jackal had downed the two peons. Miror B was the first to react, sending out his two Ludicolo to fight the Lucario, but with his Bone Rush, Jackal was able to keep both Ludicolo at bay.

In the confusion, Rui and Nascour disappeared and Kris, Wes and Lunick both sent out a Pokémon: Feraligatr, Zebstrika and Sceptile, respectively. Screaming through his gag, Cozmo ran towards the nearest cover.

"Wigglytuff, go!" yelled Venus, who sent out the round, pink normal-type.

"I'll handle her!" Lunick said quickly. "Go after those two!"

"I don't think so, darlings!" Venus proclaimed. "Wigglytuff, use Rollout!"

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Lunick ordered.

Though Wigglytuff curled into a ball and spun towards Kris and Wes at high speed, Lunick's Sceptile whacked the normal-type back to Venus with its tail, Venus shrieking and ducking as the pink ball flew back at her. Wigglytuff recovered quite fast, though, preparing to fight the Sceptile while Kris, Wes and their Pokémon ran after Nascour.

"Now what?!" Wes huffed as the two climbed back up the hill towards the canyon. "Any chance your plan covers-"

"Your psychotic exes?!" Kris yelled, running ahead of Wes. "No! Croc, come on!" she yelled at her Feraligatr, who was trying his best to keep up, while Wes's Zebstrika galloped at his side.

"So what do we do?!" Wes cried.

"Improvise! We can beat that Nascour guy into letting us go! Then we get a warning to Team Snagem and tell them to start without us!"

"Wait!" Wes suddenly yelled and stopped. "Everybody down!"

Kris didn't even know what to react to when Wes suddenly pulled her down. Croc and Zebstrika ducked too, as small meteors exploded in the air, raining hot rocks all around them. As Kris and Wes got up, more meteors were already on the way.

"Quickly!" Wes yelled and hopped on his Zebstrika, pulling Kris with him.

However, Croc refused to budge, instead growling at the oncoming meteors.

"Croc!" Kris yelled at the stubborn Feraligatr. "Run to cover!"

As the meteors exploded, raining sharp, hot rocks all over Croc, the water-type did no such thing. Growling, Croc instead used his tail to swipe the rocks away, roaring triumphantly as he did so. Croc then ran after Kris, Wes and Zebstrika, Wes nodding approvingly.

At the bottom of the pit was Nascour and a Metagross. Except this Metagross was not like usual: the color scheme was much darker, and its red eyes were empty, void of pupils. Kris didn't need an Aura Reader to tell it was a shadow Pokémon, probably at a much later phase.

"Metagross!" Nascour ordered. "Another Meteor Mash!"

"Zebstrika, Thunder Wave!" Wes yelled.

Acting much faster, Wes' Zebstrika paralyzed the Metagross in place by blasting it with a thin stream of electricity. With Metagross locked in place, Nascour sent out another Pokémon: a Dusclops, a gray, one-eyed ghost Pokémon. However, Nascour held out his hand to stop it from attacking.

"Wesley, if you and that girl beat me in a Pokémon battle, I'll tell you what I know," Nascour said. "Sound fair to you?"

"Fair enough," Wes grunted. "We're already at a huge advantage here."

"I don't like this, but that Metagross is dangerous," Kris said. "So what we should do-"

"Wait!" Wes said quietly. "I'm responsible for this, and I know how this guy fights. Let me deal with the tactics. I'll deal with the Metagross, you take the Dusclops."

Kris scoffed. "Leave the non-paralyzed one to me… fine, I'll take your word for it."

"I'm getting hot out here waiting for you!" Nascour complained. "Get a move on!"

"Zebstrika, Flame Charge!" Wes ordered.

Zebstrika stomped the ground with its hooves, causing a large cloud of dust and dirt to surround it. Its body became enveloped in flames as the Zebstrika charged at the shadow Metagross.

"Metagross, Hammer Arm!" Nascour yelled quickly. "Dusclops, circle around behind it and use Shadow Punch!"

Now it was Kris' turn to act. "Ice Punch!" she told Croc.

The Feraligatr kept the Dusclops off Zebstrika's back with a well-aimed Ice Punch that froze Dusclops in place. However, Croc's hand was trapped _inside_ the ghost-type, confusing both Croc and his trainer.

"What the hell!" Kris screamed.

Meanwhile, the agile Zebstrika dodged Metagross' attack, managing to land its Flame Charge attack and pushing the paralyzed steel-type backwards.

Unfortunately for Kris, Nascour ordered Dusclops to use Curse, and the ghost-type started draining energy from Croc, who was unable to move and began to weaken.

"Wes!" Kris yelled.

Wes waved at Zebstrika to get distance from the slowed Metagross. Seemingly ignoring Kris, Wes ordered Zebstrika to jump up into the air while Nascour ordered a Psychic attack.

"Now, Thunder Wave Dusclops!"

While Dusclops was busy keeping Croc in check, it was unable to avoid being paralyzed by Zebstrika's attack. However, Metagross' attack hit as well, weakening Zebstrika and bringing it on the ground.

"Thank you!" Kris told Wes. "Croc, Hydro Pump!"

Already weakened by using Curse, Dusclops was instantly knocked out by the powerful blast of water. However, Metagross was left unchecked, and it pounded the ground as it used Earthquake, bringing both Zebstrika and Croc down. Miraculously, both were also still up, though Zebstrika's legs were shaking a lot.

"You choose your women poorly, Wesley!" Nascour taunted. "First Rui cost you your chance of becoming rich… and now teaming up with this chick cost you your life!"

"Zebstrika!" Wes yelled. "Thu-"

"Psychic!" Nascour yelled over Wes.

Metagross lifted Zebstrika in the air, the zebra Pokémon's legs kicking the air helplessly. Kris, however, decided to repay the favor.

"Croc, use Earthquake!" she ordered.

"Magnet Rise!" Nascour yelled.

Metagross began hovering in the air, making Croc's attack useless. Nascour then ordered another Psychic attack directly at Kris and Wes, who hid behind a rock. The rock took the impact instead, the psychic shock wave tearing off chunks of it.

After its attack, Metagross landed, the dark aura enveloping the Pokémon suddenly becoming even more visible, like the Metagross was engulfed in dark purple flames. Its eyes also began glowing completely bright red. It dropped Zebstrika, the electrictype Pokémon landing on its feet and running away.

"It's entering Hyper Mode," Wes observed.

"Don't suppose it just ate too much sugar and is now spamming a forum somewhere?" Kris asked.

"Listen to me!" Wes said seriously. "It's gonna use Shadow Rush, and no way is either of our Pokémon getting up from that. We only have one chance to take it out. And after that, we take _him_ out, got it?"

"I trust you."

Kris meant it – she had no idea what Hyper Mode or Shadow Rush were, but soon found out when Metagross suddenly dashed towards Croc and Zebstrika, moving much faster than normal even when paralyzed.

"Zebstrika!" Wes yelled. "Take the hit!"

 _What?!_ Kris thought.

Hesitating for a split second, Zebstrika ran between Croc and the shadow Metagross, taking the full brunt of the attack and getting knocked out. However, this gave Croc the perfect opening, and after Kris' order, the Feraligatr blasted Metagross with a point-blank Hydro Pump attack. The force of the hit sent the Metagross flying across the canyon, hitting a rock before it was KO'd.

Seeing this, Wes rushed at Nascour, taking advantage of his momentary distraction to tackle the Cipher agent. Once they were both down, Kris ordered Croc to use Ice Fang directly on Nascour. As the Feraligatr chomped on Nascour's right leg, the limb was suddenly encased in thick ice all the way to the knee.

Zebstrika was badly injured and Wes quickly withdrew the loyal Pokémon. Kris didn't approve of the strategy, but secretly admired it: the results couldn't be denied.

Meanwhile, Lunick was still fighting Venus. Though Venus' Wigglytuff knew Flamethrower, which gave Lunick's Sceptile a bit of trouble, it was far too slow to hit the agile grass-type, who kept effortlessly bouncing around the round normal-type. Once Wigglytuff was out of breath, Lunick ordered a Leaf Blade attack, which knocked Wigglytuff out.

"Tuffy!" Venus cried as she withdrew her Pokémon. "You'll regret crossing the almighty goddess of love, Venus! Miss Ruiiii!"

"Right here, sister," said a voice behind Lunick.

Lunick turned around, but Rui was faster. As if she had anticipated Lunick's movements, Rui circled around him and pushed the button of a Poké Ball on his belt, withdrawing his Sceptile. Lunick turned to try and swing at Rui, but Rui reacted too quickly again, blocking the attack and grabbing Lunick in a stranglehold before putting a knife on the man's throat.

While that was happening, Kris and Wes were dragging Nascour with his frozen leg across the sand, interrogating the man. Kris had returned Croc to its Poké Ball, it being too exhausted by the fight and the heat of the desert.

"Talk already!" Wes yelled in Nascour's ear. "Who were you talking to?!"

"Choke on my Luvdisc, Wes," Nascour grumbled. "I'm not telling you anything. In case you haven't noticed, our troops still outnumber you ten to one."

"And by the time you finished that sentence, our Lucario probably kicked the crap out of all of them," Kris taunted. "Just tell us! We heard you mention Sird, we know you're gonna betray your supposed boss, we'll probably fill in the blanks ourselves, just save our time!"

Nascour just laughed. "Wesley, control your woman," he said, not even looking at Kris in the eye. "You don't know how much our leader's powers have grown. When we found her, she could tell shadow Pokémon from others and could find Pokémon even in the most remote deserts or forests. Now, four years later… she's practically untouchable."

"Thanks for the compliment, Nascour, I'll remember that when it's time to hand out bonuses!"

Kris, Wes and the imprisoned Nascour turned to look. Rui was standing on top of one of the rocky hills, Lunick in a stranglehold and a knife on his throat.

"Thank you for your attention!" Rui announced. "Peons!" she yelled at the Cipher peons scattered all over the place. "Collect all their Poké Balls. We can have some great shadow Pokémon once we're done. As for these three, I believe the, ahem… _boss_ would like to see them."

Kris had no choice but to comply. She and Wes put their hands up as the Cipher peons confiscated their Poké Balls. Kris tried to make eye contact with Lunick, trying to message him to stay calm, but Lunick's face was flushed with shame and his eyes were closed as Rui held him still.

From the corner of her eye, Kris spotted Jackal sneaking up on Rui. But as if Rui had read Kris' thoughts or somehow detected the stealthy Lucario, Rui turned around and faced Jackal, who started running.

"Kill that Lucario!" Rui ordered the Cipher peons who chased after Jackal, disappearing from sight so Kris didn't know what was happening.

Meanwhile, a badly beaten Miror B. emerged from behind another hill, holding the bound and gagged Cozmo still.

"I got the prof, Miss R!" Miror B announced.

"Well done," Rui said and turned to look at Kris and Wes. "Now then, we wasted too much time here already. A helicopter will come pick us up. Take it away from here!"

Both Kris and Wes suddenly felt sharp stings in their necks as nearby Cipher peons injected something in them. Within seconds, everything started to go dark, and both trainers collapsed on the ground.

 **~o~O~o~**

 _ **Location: Gateon Port, Orre**_

Cynthia's jeep pulled over by the docks of Gateon Port. A storm was brewing and most people, even nearby sailors, had rushed indoors to hide from the rain. Hilda, Hilbert an Cynthia jumped out of the jeep, Hilda looking at the sea through her Aura Reader. The trail of the massive shadowy bird disappeared to the sea, somewhere to the southwest.

"Hey!" Cynthia asked a sailor running by. "Is there anything over there? An island? An oil rig?"

"Only Citadark Isle, but no one goes there," the sailor said. "There's just a volcano, and some super strong currents that prevent anyone from approaching it. That and sonar and GPS malfunction there!"

As the sailor ran away, Hilda began searching for Citadark Isle from the maps.

"Random malfunctions?" she scoffed. "It's Cipher, no question about it. How stupid do they think we are?"

"Yes, that must be their base of operations," Cynthia deduced. "But what was that thing… the shape of it almost looked like a-"

" _A Lugia?!_ "

An electronically amplified voice echoed all over the harbor as a large, Cipher drone big enough for two people suddenly hovered over Hilda, Hilbert and Cynthia. From a lamp-like device, the drone broadcast a holographic image of a fairly young woman, no older than 25, with long, bright pink hair and a ton of makeup.

" _That is the most pristine creation of me, Dr. Lovrina of Cipher_!" the woman announced proudly. " _Shadow Lugia, the perfect shadow Pokémon! Impossible to purify by any means!"_

" _To be precise_ ," echoed a calmer, male voice, " _it is the product of both of our research-"_

" _Shut it, Ein!"_ Lovrina snapped. " _Anyway, we heard your conversation, and it's time to drop this silly pretense!_ _You can never stop project XD001, Miss Champion of Sinnoh, and even if you're keen on drowning while trying, I'll make sure your journey ends here. Ein_!"

Whatever Ein did, it made swarms of shadow Pokémon emerge from the ocean: mindless-looking Seel, Dewgong, Krabby, Kingler, Corphish, Crawdaunt, Poliwhirl and other Pokémon were emerging from the waters, approaching Hilda and the others with a singular purpose: to fight until death.


End file.
